Editing Richard C. Atkinson (section)

=== University of California System ===
The [[Regents of the University of California|University of California Board of Regents]] chose Atkinson as the seventeenth president of the UC System in August 1995. One month earlier, the Regents had approved SP-1, a ban on racial and ethnic preferences in admissions.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Pelfrey |first=Patricia A. |date=2012 |title=Entrepreneurial President: Richard Atkinson and the University of California, 1995-2003 |url=https://escholarship.org/uc/item/6h83s857 |journal=eScholarship |language=en |pages=173-174}}</ref>

Atkinson's first step was to initiate an in-depth review of UC admissions in light of the University's changed circumstances. The goal was to ensure that its policies and practices, while meeting the requirements of SP-1, would also continue to be “demonstrably inclusive and fair.” ''' '''The result of this review, approved by the Academic Senate and the Regents, was a broader, more flexible perspective on evaluating readiness for college. Along with the usual grades and test scores, the undergraduate admission process now included consideration of students’ “opportunity to learn,” defined as the educational, economic, or social difficulties the student had faced during schooling and evidence of persistence in working toward high academic achievement. In addition to these policy changes, the Regents’ resolution called on the administration to consult with various UC constituencies on developing “proposals for new directions and increased funding” to raise the UC eligibility rate of minority and other underrepresented students. The result was the report of the Outreach Task Force, presented to the Regents in July 1997.<ref>{{Cite book |last=King |first=C. Judson |url=https://escholarship.org/uc/item/6rj182v7 |title=The University of California: Creating, Nurturing, and Maintaining Academic Quality in a Public University Setting |date=2018-10-01 |language=en}}</ref>

In his first year as president, Atkinson established the Industry-University Cooperative Research Program (IUCRP), an investment in research partnerships with industry in disciplines essential to California's high-tech economy. The program's emphasis on promising early-stage research ripe for practical application was directed at stimulating California's productivity and competitiveness. In the same spirit, Atkinson committed the University to addressing a crisis in the state's supply of highly trained engineers and computer scientists. UC enrollments in these disciplines rose by nearly 70 percent—the first real growth in the state's programs in engineering since the 1968 Terman Report virtually ended expansion of engineering education in California.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Terman |first=Frederick Emmons |url=https://books.google.com/books/about/A_Study_of_Engineering_Education_in_Cali.html?id=2008AAAAIAAJ |title=A Study of Engineering Education in California |date=1968 |publisher=Coordinating Council for Higher Education |language=en}}</ref>

In 2000, Governor [[Gray Davis]] asked the University to establish four new research enterprises on its campuses, the [[California Institutes for Science and Innovation]]. Their mission is to generate discoveries ripe for application in the fields of biomedicine, bioengineering, nanosystems, telecommunications, and information technology through partnerships with the state's entrepreneurial industries.<ref>{{Cite web |title=UCOP - Innovation Transfer & Entrepreneurship |url=https://www.ucop.edu/innovation-entrepreneurship/ie-resources/ie-alliances/cal-isis.html |access-date= |website=www.ucop.edu}}</ref>

The Board of Regents voted unanimously to rescind SP-1 at its May 2001 meeting. The 1996 passage of Proposition 209, which eliminated racial and ethnic preferences in all State entities, including the University of California, meant SP-1 had become redundant. More troubling to some Regents was the concern that the 1995 policy “may have created the perception that underrepresented students were unwelcome at the University.” The Board's resolution reaffirmed the Academic Senate's authority over admissions standards and UC's responsibility for selecting a diverse and highly qualified student body.<ref>{{Cite web |date=May 2001 |title=Minutes of the Regents of the University of California, |url=https://regents.universityofcalifornia.edu/minutes/2001/board1601.pdf}}</ref> In a February 2001 speech at the [[American Council on Education]], Atkinson announced he was recommending elimination of the SAT as a requirement for admission to the University of California.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Atkinson |first=Richard C. |date=February 2001 |title=“Standardized Tests and Access to American Universities,” Keynote Address Delivered at the American Council on Education, Washington, D.C. |url=http://rca.ucsd.edu/speeches/satspch.pdf}}</ref>