[2] Atkinson Graduate School was founded at Willamette University in 1974 and moved into the new Seeley G. Mudd Building in 1975.

[5][6] 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.

[6] 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.

[4] 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.

[12] Atkinson opened a center to the north in Portland's Pearl District in August 2005 to provide a two-year MBA program in the Oregon's most populous city.

[26] Students in their first year in a program are required to enroll in an entrepreneurship course called PACE that includes strategies that are used to develop a business plan.

[29] The school also offers a four-year joint MBA-JD degree in association with the Willamette University College of Law.

[30] Willamette's MBA for Professionals program in Portland and Salem focuses management skill development, broad based strategic thinking and cross-functional knowledge.

[31] Classrooms are located in the Brewery Block II building in the Pearl District and on the Salem campus.

[30] In addition to student programs, AGSM also offers an Executive Development Center (EDC) designed to educate businesses and organizations as consultants to those groups.

[citation needed] As of 2009, U.S. News & World Report ranks the school's public affairs program as the 90th best in the United States.

[43] "Beyond Grey Pinstripes" again recognized Willamette's commitment to ethics, environmental stewardship and social responsibility.

[45] The school is housed in the Seeley G. Mudd Building on the west end of the Willamette University campus in Salem.

The Willamette University Portland Center was established in 2005 and houses the MBA for Professionals (evening) program.

Students have an average entering GPA of 3.30 and Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT) score of 610.