Atkinson Graduate School of Management
 |
|
| Type | Private |
|---|---|
| Established | 1974 |
| Dean | Debra J. Ringold |
|
Academic staff
|
45 |
|
Administrative staff
|
20 |
| Students | 312 |
| Location |
Salem, Oregon, USA 44°56′10″N 123°02′02″W / 44.936172°N 123.033957°WCoordinates: 44°56′10″N 123°02′02″W / 44.936172°N 123.033957°W |
| Campus | Urban |
| Website | www.willamette.edu/agsm/ |
The Willamette University MBA (Atkinson) is the Masters in Business Administration (MBA) program at Willamette University in Salem, Oregon, United States. It is one of only two MBA programs in the world accredited for both Business Administration (AACSB International) and Public Administration (NASPAA). Atkinson was established by Willamette in 1974 and has an enrollment of approximately 312 students.
Atkinson Graduate School was founded at Willamette University in 1974 and moved into the new Seeley G. Mudd Building in 1975. The first year had 52 students and five professors. The program is older than the management program at Yale University. Stephen Archer served as the school's first dean. The school was first named as the Willamette University School of Administration before being renamed as the George H. Atkinson Graduate School of Management. Atkinson was a businessman in the construction industry and a trustee of Willamette before he died in 1978. He served as president of the board of trustees and made the largest single donation in school history up to that time in 1969 when his foundation gave $3.4 million to the university.
In 1978, the Center for Business-Government Studies was added to the school after Willamette received a grant from the M. J. Murdock Charitable Trust. The program was designed to better understand the relationships between the government and businesses. In 1988, the school was recognized by U.S. News & World Report and the fifth best business school in the Midwest and West region. It was the highest ranked of any school in the Pacific Northwest. Enrollment was 130 students with 10 full-time professors. At that time the program was led by Dean David L. Puryear with a tuition of just over $8,000 per year.
In 1990, the school hired G. Dale Weight to serve as dean, the same year he was removed as chief executive officer of the Benj. Franklin Savings and Loan after the thrift was seized by the government during the Savings and loan crisis. Weight remained dean until 1998. At that time Atkinson GSM had 184 students and 11 full-time faculty members. Tuition was $14,900 per year then and incoming students scored an average of 550 on the Graduate Management Admission Test. From 1998 to 2002, Atkinson was led by Dean Bryan Johnston. Johnston had been the interim president at Willamette and a member of the Oregon House of Representatives.
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