Jasmine Ames MBA’18 was working as a bank teller and planning to apply to PhD programs when she met a recruiter from Willamette’s Atkinson Graduate School of Management. The more she learned about Atkinson, the more excited she became. She decided to put the PhD on hold and first pursue an Atkinson MBA.
“It was the best decision I ever made,” says Ames, now a vice president/senior relationship manager at U.S. Bank in Portland. At Atkinson, she learned strategy, finance, marketing, and more. She found lifelong faculty mentors. As she gained knowledge, she gained confidence too.
For half a century, Atkinson has prepared leaders like Ames for business, government, and nonprofit management. As Atkinson marks its 50th anniversary this academic year, it does so with a string of superlatives: It is Bloomberg Businessweek’s top-ranked management school in Oregon. Inc. Magazine recognizes two of its entrepreneurship courses as among the best in the country. Out of more than 1,100 accredited programs in the U.S., Poets & Quants ranks Atkinson Number 76.
“Many perceive MBA programs as teaching people how to line their own pockets — and we’re not about that,” says Interim Dean and Associate Professor of Accounting Romana Autrey. “We’re about how to run organizations effectively, whether in the for-profit, not-for-profit, or government sectors and how to use management to help organizations accomplish their missions.”
Perhaps most notably, Atkinson is the only MBA program accredited by NASPAA (public policy education) and AACSB (business education). This is especially validating for a school that has consistently recognized the overlaps among business, government, and nonprofit management — providing a foundation for alumni to weave in and out of the three sectors.
Atkinson has programs in both Portland and Salem. It serves students at all career stages, from an early career full-time MBA to a part-time MBA for professionals. Among its other offerings: a BA/MBA that offers two degrees in five years; a JD/MBA, in partnership with Willamette Law, that is one of the top programs of its kind; and an innovative MBA/master’s in data science, in collaboration with Willamette’s new School of Computing and Information Sciences.
Atkinson opened its doors in the fall of 1974. Among the first students was Patrick Pine BA’74, MBA’76. Now the administrator of two United Farm Workers trusts, he describes a spirit of freshness and energy among faculty, staff, and students.
That spirit led Pine to ask the inaugural dean, Stephen Archer, if a job with the State of Oregon could count for internship credit. The dean said yes — and used Pine’s experience to develop Atkinson’s first internship program.
Experiential learning became a cornerstone. Today, students can spend a year making investments via the O’Neill Student Investment Fund, and the class runs on the profits they accrue over time. In the Philanthropic Investment for Community Impact class, students award real grants to nonprofits.
“We don’t just want you to learn terms and understand concepts,” says Associate Dean of Academic Affairs and Professor of Human Resources & Organizational Behavior Ashley Nixon. “We want you to be able to apply those concepts in real-world settings with real-world consequences — and with professor feedback, as a safety net.”
The spirit of the early days continues. Willamette recently unveiled an undergraduate business major, giving undergraduate students the rare opportunity to learn from Atkinson’s graduate-level faculty. At the graduate level, a new STEM MBA helps students use analytical tools to drive management decisions, while the partnership between Atkinson and the School of Computing and Information Science prepares managers for an era of technological change. With each of these new programs, Atkinson is helping business leaders meet the needs of the particular moment, as it has done throughout its history.
And many of these leaders return to Atkinson after they graduate to teach courses — including Ames, who went on to earn a PhD in law and public policy at Northeastern University and, in January, became a contributing assistant professor at Atkinson.
“At Atkinson,” she says, “I found ways to exercise strengths that I didn’t even know I had.” Now, she is helping today’s students do the same.
A look back at 50 years of excellence
We compiled some of the milestones that have defined the rich history of the Atkinson Graduate School of Management.
1964
Willamette University President George Herbert Smith kicks off the planning stage for a new school of management.
1969
The new school is named the Geo. H. Atkinson Graduate School of Administration in honor of George Atkinson, a Willamette University trustee who invested significant time and energy into the project.
1974
The Atkinson School welcomes its first class.
1975
The Seeley G. Mudd Building is completed.
1976
The Atkinson School’s first graduating class of around 40 students receive their Masters of Administration degrees.
1981
The Atkinson School is renamed the Atkinson Graduate School of Management, and the degree offered is changed to a Masters of Management.
1987
U.S. News and World Report recognizes Atkinson as one of the best regional management schools in the western United States
1995
The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) International and the National Association of Schools of Public Affairs and Administration (NASPAA) grants Atkinson School accreditation. It was the first program in the world to earn this dual accreditation.
1998
PACE (Practical Application for Careers and Enterprises) begins, offering students an opportunity to consult for a not-for-profit or government organization and develop a business plan.
1999
The Atkinson School’s degree title changes to Masters of Business Administration.
2005
Willamette launches an evening program for professionals in Portland's Pearl District.
2009
The Willamette Angel Fund is founded as the first student-run angel investment program in the country, giving students valuable and unique experiential learning opportunities.
2021
The MBA for Professionals program moves to a new building at 200 Market St. in Portland.
2023
Bloomberg names Atkinson a top U.S. business school for the 10th consecutive year.
2024
Atkinson’s expands its Portland presence to the Willamette Graduate & Professional Center in the historic Ecotrust building.
2025
As it celebrates it's 50th anniversary, Atkinson's Salem home moves across 12th street to Kaneko Commons — featuring more modern classrooms, collaboration spaces, and a more integrated community.
