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Courtesy of UC Office
of the President
Outgoing UC President Richard C. Atkinson stands with his wife,
Rita (left), and their daughter, Lynn, after delivering his farewell
address to the Board of Regents in San Francisco. On Oct. 2, UC
San Diego physicist Robert C. Dynes became the 18th president.
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farewell, mr. president
Atkinson leaves on hopeful note
BY CYNTHIA LEE
UCLA Today Staff
During the final days of his eight-year tenure as UC president, Richard
C. Atkinson could not help but comment on his knack for picking tumultuous
times to make his entrances and exits.
“When I took office as UC’s 17th president in 1995, the
university and much of the state were paralyzed by a bitter debate over
affirmative action,” he said in his farewell address to the regents.
“As I prepare to leave on Oct. 1, our state is consumed by a gubernatorial
recall election that will feature a ballot with 135 candidates. California
never is at a loss for interesting issues.”
Interesting times have also characterized Atkinson’s tenure. Under
his watch, UC pursued initiatives to preserve access and diversity with
an array of outreach programs to K-12 students, offering mentorship, academic
enrichment and a guaranteed spot in the UC system for eligible students
who graduate in the top 4% of their high school class. To broaden access,
UC’s admissions process was revamped to give each application a
comprehensive review, ensuring an evaluation of the full achievement record
of all applicants beyond grades and SAT scores.
It was Atkinson who successfully challenged the testing industry to
change the way college applicants are tested. He not only guided the university
through difficult budgetary challenges, but helped shape its future with
the development of four California Institutes for Science and Innovation,
one of which is the California NanoSystems Institute, a joint venture
of UCLA and UC Santa Barbara.
“Richard Atkinson has been an outstanding president of the University
of California,” said Chancellor Albert Carnesale. “Under his
strong leadership, the university has grown substantially in both stature
and size. Especially notable are his achievements in expanding outreach
in the wake of Proposition 209, reforming admissions policies (not only
at UC, but nationally), strengthening the contributions of UC research
to the state and the nation, overhauling the management of the Los Alamos
National Laboratory and appointing vice presidents and chancellors who
function effectively as a team.”
Before leaving office, Atkinson reflected on the issues UC faces as
he returns to UC San Diego, where he hopes to get back to attending seminars
and teaching, “if the faculty there will let me!”
On the current budget crisis, he commented, “If you look at the
history of the university, we have always managed to survive the cycle
and usually come out much stronger as we enter a period of better budgets.”
Yet, he added, “The current year’s budget, which is based
on the state borrowing $10 billion — we can’t re-create that
budget again next year. So the Legislature is going to have to deal with
some very tough issues. There are going to have to be some tax increases,
in my judgment, along with further reductions in the budget.”
As for the UC employees, Atkinson offered high praise. “They are
very dedicated, and they work very hard — I say that with no reservation.
They believe in the university and recognize that in many ways we are
a great employer. Because of the state budget situation, our salaries
have lagged, as they have for state employees. I hope that can be turned
around — I know it is a high priority for the university, but we
need the proper financial support from the state.”
To UC’s faculty and staff, he left this parting thought: “There
simply is no institution like the University of California anywhere in
the world, and I hope you take pride in what you have helped to build
here.” |
