Xiumin Martin has been installed as the inaugural Margaret Oung Distinguished Professor at Olin Business School at Washington University in St. Louis. An installation ceremony was held Nov. 17 in the Charles F. Knight Center.
During his introduction, Mike Mazzeo, Olin dean and the Knight Family Professor, praised Martin for her leadership as a mentor and colleague.
“Xiumin is a dedicated mentor whose students now hold faculty positions around the world — a reflection of her care, rigor and commitment to helping others succeed,” Mazzeo said. “Beyond her scholarship, she is known for her generosity of spirit, thoughtfulness and quiet determination — qualities that make her a trusted colleague and a deeply valued member of the Olin community.”
The Margaret Oung Distinguished Professorship at Olin Business School was established in 2022 by Camille King, BSBA ’88, to honor the extraordinary life and legacy of her mother, Margaret Oung, founder of American Sporting Goods Corp. King said she hopes it will inspire students and faculty alike to embody the same spirit of perseverance, generosity and integrity that defined her mother.
“Camille is humble about her philanthropy, but through this professorship she has ensured her mother’s spirit will continue to inspire generations of students and scholars at Washington University,” Chancellor Andrew D. Martin said. “We are grateful to Camille for carrying forward that legacy and for her ongoing commitment to Olin and WashU.”
Martin’s installation address, “Gratitude and Perseverance,” paid tribute to those values and celebrated the people who have made an impact on her life and academic journey. In her address, Martin compared her academic career to a famous quote by Walter Elliot: “Perseverance is not a long race; it is many short races, one after another.”
This quote, Martin said, encapsulates the challenges she has faced in her academic journey, which included being rejected by top academic programs and being one of the oldest students in her doctorate program at the University of Missouri-Columbia. Saying that God favors those who are mentally prepared, Martin said her academic journey has ultimately been rewarding.
About Martin
Martin joined Olin Business School as a professor of accounting in 2007 after completing her doctorate in accounting. Originally from Harbin, China, she earned her undergraduate degree in regional economics at Nanjing University and, after a three-year tenure as an auditor with Deloitte & Touche in Shanghai, returned to academia to complete her master’s at Hong Kong Baptist University.
Martin has established herself as a leading scholar in the accounting field. By examining how information, regulation and institutional structures influence investor behavior, financial reporting and capital-market outcomes, Martin’s research deepens our understanding of finance markets and directly informs accounting policy and corporate governance.
Her scholarship — bridging accounting and emerging financial technologies — advances stability and transparency across global markets.
Martin’s recent work employs a versatile methodology, ranging from empirical archival analysis and field experiments to structural estimation. She has published extensively in leading journals, including The Accounting Review, Journal of Accounting and Economics and Journal of Accounting Research, among other top-tier outlets. Martin also served for six years as an editor at The Accounting Review and is currently an associate editor at Management Science.
Martin and her spouse, Sam Martin, live in Richmond Heights with their son, Isaac. She is an avid gardener and yoga enthusiast and enjoys spending time with her family.
About Oung
Oung, a woman of determination, integrity and compassion, founded American Sporting Goods Corp. At its height, the company’s portfolio included Rykä, Avia and AND1 running shoes. Thanks to her leadership, the company was positioned for a successful sale in 2011.
Oung’s achievements were rooted in her belief in the power of education and hard work to transform lives — beliefs she impressed upon her daughter from a young age. Her daughter credits her mother as the animating force of her own success.
A 1988 graduate of Olin Business School, King has remained deeply engaged with WashU. She served on the Parents Council from 2021–24 and established two endowed scholarships in the Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts: the Camille V. King Scholarship and the Margaret Oung Scholarship. Through these commitments and the professorship that bears her mother’s name, King continues to honor the values that shaped her life and to extend her family’s legacy of opportunity, leadership and service throughout the life of the university. King’s son, Adrian Hong, graduated from Olin in 2024 with a bachelor’s degree in business administration.
