When Willamette University’s top-rated Atkinson Graduate School of Management officially celebrates its golden anniversary this May, it will do so in a new Salem campus home. The vibrant space, adjacent to Willamette’s Kaneko Commons residence hall and learning commons, gives students access to more modern classrooms, student lounges, quiet study spaces, an integrated student services and career center, and a lively atrium.
The move also increases space for growing programs, such as Willamette’s popular undergraduate business major. It also marks a historic change for the Atkinson School, which had been housed in the Seely G. Mudd building on the west side of campus since 1975. Atkinson’s growing Portland presence was recently expanded with the opening of Willamette’s Graduate & Professional Center in the creative and commercial heart of downtown.
“Moving to Kaneko has allowed us to have all faculty and classes in the same place,” said Associate Dean for Academic Affairs and Professor of Human Resources and Organizational Behavior Ashley Nixon. “This is a great opportunity for our undergraduate and graduate students to meet and establish professional connections, to easily find their faculty and staff members, and to have multiple socializing spaces.”
With the consolidation of space, students can more easily access resources, such as career development. The move was a welcome one for DJ Smith MBA’25, who recently spent time in the cozy and welcoming Kaneko career offices getting help with a cover letter for a dream job opportunity with the Portland Trail Blazers.
“As a second-year MBA student, the move made me feel like a new student again,” Smith said. “I like the aesthetics of Kaneko and it's good to see other students come in and work as well. It makes you feel a little bit more a part of the community.”
The space will be officially acknowledged at a special 50th-anniversary open house for students and alumni to coincide with the annual Atkinson Brownwater Regatta in May. Nixon hopes the whole Atkinson community will come together to celebrate and integrate Kaneko into its tradition.
Until then, faculty and students are already celebrating the new space. “It seems simple, but this move has already contributed to a growing sense of community for those associated with Atkinson,” Nixon said.
