SAN FRANCISCO -- University of California President Richard C. Atkinson is leaving his post the same way he came in, firmly opposed to banning race and gender from the admissions process.

"I continue to believe those were the wrong decisions," Atkinson said Thursday in a written farewell he presented to the UC Board of Regents as he attended his last regularly scheduled meeting.

Earlier, the meeting had been interrupted by the shouts of protesters demanding that Regent Ward Connerly, who spearheaded the move to stop considering race or ethnicity at UC, step down.

It was a bookend of sorts. Atkinson's first meeting as president -- September 1995 -- was briefly halted by pro-affirmative action protesters.

Atkinson was chancellor of UC San Diego in July 1995, when regents voted to stop considering race or gender in admissions. He was picked as president in August of that year after an earlier search attempt ended in embarrassment when the selected candidate abruptly backed out.

Months into the job, Atkinson hit a rough spot when he announced that the admission changes would be delayed a year.

Atkinson along with the system's eight other chancellors supported considering race in admissions on the grounds it helps address inequities in the public school system. He tried to assure regents that the delay, from fall 1997 to fall 1998, was for practical, not political reasons. But he came close to getting fired before defusing the row by apologizing and coming up with a compromise -- the changes would apply to graduate students in fall 1997 and to undergraduates in spring 1998.

Since undergraduates make up the bulk of admissions and most apply for fall, Atkinson had effectively gotten his way, showing a quiet but persistent leadership that would be a hallmark of his tenure as president.

"He is one of the great men of higher education," Regent John Moores, chairman of board, said Thursday.

Atkinson oversaw several changes to UC admissions, including a program of admitting the top 4 percent of students at every high school, designed to help good students at bad schools, and taking socio-economic factors into account, such as whether an applicant overcame poverty.

In May 2001, by which time the political makeup of the board had changed, regents rescinded the 1995 vote. However, Proposition 209, the 1996 ballot initiative organized by Connerly that forbids considering race or gender in public hiring, contracting or education, remains law.

In his farewell, Atkinson noted that although UC diversity has increased from the sharp drop that followed the end of the old admissions system, the number of Hispanic and black students at the top campuses remains below the old levels and the gap is widening between the diversity of the UC freshman class and that of the state's high school graduates.

Nationally, Atkinson's biggest legacy may be his challenge to the SAT and ACT college entry exams. In early 2001, he asked UC faculty to considering dropping the SAT, saying it was taking up too much of students' time and money and noting that it had been criticized as unfair to minorities.

With close to 200,000 students, UC is the SAT's biggest customer and after some initial reluctance, officials at the College Board, which owns the SAT, agreed to revisions. The changes, to take effect in 2005, include adding an essay, dropping the analogy questions and making the math more advanced. The ACT also added an essay.

Atkinson's term was rarely dull. He came in at a time of economic cutbacks, saw the boom days of the late '90s and also handled a failed hospital merger with Stanford University as well as some high-profile troubles at the two nuclear weapons labs UC manages for the Energy Department.

He hands over to incoming president Robert C. Dynes, who replaced Atkinson at UC San Diego, at a time when the nine-campus system is again in economic crisis. UC has seen its budget cut by nearly half a billion so far and is anticipating more cuts next year as the state continues to struggle with its deficit.

"It has been pointed out that I seem to have a knack for picking tumultuous times for my entrances and exits," Atkinson pointed out his farewell remarks.

Addressing the board directly Thursday, Atkinson was characteristically modest. He looked a bit embarrassed by the prolonged standing ovation that preceded his short speech and waved the clapping crowd back into their seats.

Atkinson, 74, whose last day is Oct. 1, has said he is retiring to see more of his grandchildren. He addressed some of his remarks to his wife, Rita, sitting in the audience, giving her "the greatest thanks of all. She has been a steadfast companion and friend and the love of my life for over 50 years," he said, his voice breaking ever so slightly. "She has saved me from many disasters."