Elsevier

As an institution of both higher learning and world-class research, UC Berkeley has had a long history of engaging in research efforts with professionals from around the world.

For years, researchers would independently contact publishers to ask for their names to be updated on old research papers.

At its virtual meeting Wednesday, the UC Board of Regents passed the UC Office of the President, or UCOP, 2021-22 budget, discussed student mental health needs, heard updates on open access agreements for research and explored ways to support campus innovation and entrepreneurship.

Marking a large step toward making research freely available to all, the UC system struck an open publishing deal with research publishing giant Elsevier.

The privatization of academic publishing has perpetuated social inequality by historically deterring disadvantaged universities from accessing research.

Open access publishing has been on the rise in recent years, and UC Berkeley is helping lead the movement away from traditional, subscription-based publishing models.

Twenty-one Nobel laureates submitted an open letter to President Trump on Monday urging him to approve a rumored plan to make federally funded research free and immediately accessible after publication.

UC libraries have initiated open access to university-authored research with two new publication contracts announced in the new year, while the contracts with research giant Elsevier and other publishers remain in flux.

The letter was written in response to an impasse in negotiations between Elsevier and the UC. The letter states that the signatories will only resume their relationships with Cell Press when an appropriate resolution has been made.

After eight months of negotiations, Cambridge University Press and the UC system agreed to a three-year open-access publishing deal Wednesday.