Atkinson Graduate School of Management

The George H. Atkinson Graduate School of Administration was founded in 1974, with Stephen Archer serving as the first Dean. The graduate school has been housed in the Seeley G. Mudd Building on the Willamette University campus since the building’s dedication in 1975. In 1980, the School of Administration changed its name to the George H. Atkinson Graduate School of Management (AGSM).

Part of the AGSM mission is to help “graduates acquire life-long learning skills and become outstanding leaders and managers in business, government, and nonprofit organizations worldwide.” Among the programs offered to students of the AGSM are an Executive-in-Residence and Executive-on-Campus programs that allows students to interact with, and learn from business professionals. AGSM has received multiple honors including recognition from the U.S. News and World Report as the fifth best business school in the Midwest and West region in 1988, and acceptance for a Beta Gamma Sigma honor society chapter in 1996. In 1995, it was accredited by the American Association of Schools of Business (now the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business) and the National Association of School of Public Affairs and Administration. It is the first Master of Management program with this dual accreditation.

Since its first year, AGSM staff and students have participated in a tradition known as the Brownwater Regatta. Occurring near the end of the semester (April or May) Brownwater involves various sporting events, BBQs, the Choate Fun Run and the Mill Stream Float.