UIUC, UIC & branding (Chicago, Springfield: schools, universities, pharmacy)

[edsg25]

In the post-WWII baby boomer years, the nation's public university systems underwent a massive growth. Existing universities became larger and new institutions opened. Notably in Chicagoland, UICC (Chicago Circle) opened in 1965.

Quite often in the 1950s and 1960s, the original stand alone flagship public university (think U of I) was turned into a university system (think of today's UIUC, UIC and UIS).That model began well before the war in the 1920s when the single campus University of California expanded beyond Berkeley to Davis and, most notably, Los Angeles. And the success there with UCLA, a magical name for the most popular (more students apply there than any other school) laid the framework for schools named the Univ. of ___ @ ___. None of these new schools developed into what UCLA has become.

Often the original flagship acquired the same naming system as in UC becoming UC Berkeley. That was done to give the sense of equality to all the schools in the system..which pretty much did not exist. North of the stateliness, UW Madison uses the same naming system the rest of the UW's use. But UW Madison remains Wisconsin or UW. And in the case of Madison, the university has expressed interest in being able to drop the city name and return to being the University of Wisconsin. The feeling is that having the city name dilutes the statewide brand thatUW affords.

Some states (like Alabama) never tacked the city name onto its flagship in Tuscaloosa which remained the University of Alabama even as schools like UAB were added. In Missouri, the Univ of MO became the Univ of MO, Columbia, but has reverted back to Univ of MO.

Which brings us to Illinois. the official name was changed to UIUC years ago, but that brand is basically never used by the university anymore. Today's branding calls the school Illinois. Period. Two of the 3 universities in the system (UIUC, UIC) are major research institutions. The third in Springfield is a regional university.

UIC was created in the 1980s by combining UICC with the UI med center. As an institution, the school has grown instate and is more than comfortable about the UIC brand.

My question is this: would UIUC like to drop Urbana Champaign from its name and return to being the U of I? And, if so, is it a good idea to let it do so.

And just as importantly, would UIC be comfortable with it being the University of Illinois at Chicago if the flagship downstate was re-renamed the University of Illinois?

[Maintainschaos]

Might be a better question for the Illinois forum.

FWIW, my perspective comes from having grown up in Illinois "just down the road" from UIUC, attended private and public universities including NU and Wisconsin, and now a professor at an R1. My conclusion based on my experience: it doesn't matter.

In academia, UIUC and Illinois are still used interchangeably by everyone (the same is true for UW-Madison and Wisconsin). When people say "Illinois" they're always referring to UIUC, without having to specify. People even say "Champaign" (or more rarely "Urbana-Champaign"), and they are always referring to UIUC. UIC and UIS are ones that need the city-based monikers.

[emathias]

For public Universities (and even Universities in general), unless there is something causing legitimate confusion, I don't really see the point of fine-tuning the branding. Very few students select a university based on the name alone, at least not at the state university level (Harvard, etc, recruit somewhat based on name alone, but it's not really a comparable situation). For scientists and academics, the name isn't important, it's what's happening at that location that's important. As long as they can use a name that specifies the specific school they mean so that they can have a shared understanding of the context of work being done, they really don't care about the name.

[genesiss23]

The University of Illinois refers to all three campuses. When you receive your diploma, in big letters is University of Illinois, and in small, the campus. If you want to be technical both the oldest college and non-academic unit are at Chicago, college of Pharmacy and Eye and Ear Infirmary. They predate Urbana because they were founded in the 1850s

[JacksonPanther]

What aren't Northern, Southern, Eastern, Western, and Northeastern Illinois included in the U of I system?

[damba]

Originally Posted by Maintainschaos

Might be a better question for the Illinois forum.

FWIW, my perspective comes from having grown up in Illinois "just down the road" from UIUC, attended private and public universities including NU and Wisconsin, and now a professor at an R1. My conclusion based on my experience: it doesn't matter.

In academia, UIUC and Illinois are still used interchangeably by everyone (the same is true for UW-Madison and Wisconsin). When people say "Illinois" they're always referring to UIUC, without having to specify. People even say "Champaign" (or more rarely "Urbana-Champaign"), and they are always referring to UIUC. UIC and UIS are ones that need the city-based monikers.

Agreed 110%

[damba]

Originally Posted by JacksonPanther

What aren't Northern, Southern, Eastern, Western, and Northeastern Illinois included in the U of I system?

Because they are not major research institutions.

[edsg25]

Originally Posted by damba

Because they are not major research institutions.

If that were so, how can you explain UIS?

[edsg25]

Does anyone know if the innovation center planned for The 78 is being developed by the UI system or UIUC? I'm pretty sure it is UIUC.

[damba]

Originally Posted by edsg25

If that were so, how can you explain UIS?

What is there to explain? It’s part of the same system/pool of funds. It’s just a newer, smaller campus intentionally located near the IL state center of government. Peruse their site to see the types of research that is not dissimilar to offerings (and structure) at UIUC and UIC.