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Presidential and Scientific Papers—Richard Atkinson

UC Office of the President

Achievement versus Aptitude

Richard C. Atkinson served as the University of California's seventeenth president from 1995 to 2003. The Atkinson years were a time of dramatic expansion and landmark issues for UC. Enrollments, research programs, and funding all grew rapidly to new highs. The University faced the imperative of pursuing diversity in the post-affirmative action age, created new paradigms for industry-university cooperative research, and challenged the validity of the SAT I, the nation's most widely used college entrance examination.

The speeches, lectures, and other papers gathered here document these and a variety of other issues. The principal theme of this collection is the University of California itself, and the role it plays as a public research university in a diverse, dynamic, and knowledge-based society. We hope you will enjoy this introduction to the events and challenges of the Atkinson presidency.

Academic Quality
Achievement versus Aptitude
Education
Race and Diversity
The Atkinson Presidency
The Research University
The University and the Economy
University Admissions
University of California

Cover page of Rethinking Admissions: US Public Universities in the Post-Affirmative Action Age

Rethinking Admissions: US Public Universities in the Post-Affirmative Action Age

(2004)

In the aftermath of SP-1 and Proposition 209, the University of California has adopted several strategies in order to maintain access. In the long term, the university seeks to work with individual students to improve their academic preparation and to expand partnerships with the K-12 public sector. The state’s need to educate more of its minority citizens is urgent, however, so in the shorter term the University has focused on three strategies in its admissions process: comprehensive review, Eligibility in the Local Context (ELC), and the Dual Admissions Program (DAP). The paper also discusses the use of standardized tests in judging students’ readiness for university-level work, and especially changes to the SAT tests that have come about partly in response to UC policies. The paper concludes by assessing the ongoing debates over racial preferences in college admissions.

Cover page of Statement on the Vote by the College Board Trustees to Revise the SAT I

Statement on the Vote by the College Board Trustees to Revise the SAT I

(2002)

Statement on the College Board’s new test, which will be in accord with specifications developed by UC’s Board of Admissions and Relations with Schools.

Cover page of UC and the SAT: Recommended Principles for the Use of Admission Tests at the University of California

UC and the SAT: Recommended Principles for the Use of Admission Tests at the University of California

(2002)
Cover page of Achievement Versus Aptitude Tests in College Admissions

Achievement Versus Aptitude Tests in College Admissions

(2001)

Paper based on keynote address at the conference “Rethinking the SAT: The Future of Standardized Testing in University Admissions,” University of California, Santa Barbara, November 16, 2001. Published in Issues in Science and Technology, Winter 2001-02.

Cover page of Let's Step Back from the SAT I

Let's Step Back from the SAT I

(2001)

Opinion piece about elimination of the SAT I examination as a requirement for admission to the University of California.

Cover page of UC Takes a Look at SAT I's Worth

UC Takes a Look at SAT I's Worth

(2001)

Opinion piece about the role of standardized testing and the SAT I.

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