Theory: UCLA invents naming system..only benefits itself (Los Angeles, San Diego: public schools, universities)

[edsg25]

I just wanted to run by this theory I have and see forumers think it has any validity:

UCLA was created in 1919 as Southern Branch of the University of California. I believe (and found no contradictory evidence) that that was the first example of public university established a major second campus as a comprehensive university of its own.

UCLA became the University of California at Los Angeles in 1927. UCLA, I believe, gave birth to the naming system of The University of _______ @ ________. UCLA rose quickly into a major, highly respected public university.

Flash forward to the 1950s and 60s, the baby boom era and across the nation, established universities grew and grew and new ones were being added all the time. It was in this era that U of __ @ __ became wide spread and, I feel, very much inspired by the first such example, UCLA, and based on its successes.

And during this time, the flagship public university in numerous states retained its status of being the top dog while other universities using the U of __ @ ___ had names that almost conveyed the idea they were branches. It was (is) a name system that doesn't seem to benefit anyone: the original flagship often had the name of its city added on, giving it what it interpreted as a less than statewide identity. Of course, the flagships still could, were allowed to call themselves what they always did: When the University of Wisconsin became UW Madison, it was still allowed to call itself "Wisconsin". It was and it is, in fact, "Wisconsin" and if you go to its website and if you look at its graphic identity, it is "Wisconsin" it is branding itself as. The rest of the schools, as noted above, had names that sound like a branch of Madison.

Some of the original flagships changed their name back to the original. For example, the University of Missouri Columbia reverted back to the University of Missouri. Other schools in the system continued to keep the state and city in their names.

Only one state, again IMHO, didn't follow the notion of the flagship and a series of lesser institutions, that state being California where the UC system established an identity on its own, system wide, serving as the top rung in the state's three tiers (UC, CSU, JUCO) of higher education. Only in California could one say being "a UC" carries honors just in the name.

But even with all of this, UCLA is different. UCLA alone in the UC system is never referred to in a name like UC-Los Angeles (while it is perfectly acceptable to call UCSD UC San Diego). "University of California Los Angeles" has almost no meaning. The school is UCLA, wouldn't want to be anything but UCLA and is globally known as UCLA. Only Cal and UCLA are special within the system on how they name themselves and no other undergraduate institution can do the same (as a grad level school, UCSF can get by being UCSF and no one says UC San Francisco....but it still uses "University of California San Francisco" as an identity where UCLA does not use "University of California Los Angeles" as part of its)

And that is where the part about "only it benefits" in the title of the thread comes in. No school is as comfortable, in fact embraces, its U of __ @ ___ identity. It wouldn't have it any other way. UCLA has no problem with the University of California Berkeley being either "Cal" or "California". It is fine with them, no threat to their security whatsoever.

Yet across the state line, where the University of Nevada, the Reno institution, was expanded with a southern campus in Las Vegas. And the southern campus today is larger and better known than the original. Yet UNLV objects to UNR being allowed to call itself "Nevada" and, in fact, through any reference to that school, UNLV refers to it as UNR.

Forgive me....that was rather long, I realize. I was merely trying to say UCLA gave birth to a naming system, one used by many universities, based on how successful UCLA had become......but none of them so successfully wear their U of __ @ ___ status as UCLA (although I think that being one of the UC's and so labeled is still comfortable to those institutions). Indeed, I think it would be virtually impossible to find any state other than CA where the original flagship and one of the other campuses in the system were at the same level of academic reputation. UCLA and Cal are peer universities. And when it comes to public US universities, there are four (again in that dang IMHO) that are viewed as the pantheon of public education: Cal, UCLA, UVa, U-M.

[CA4Now]

Originally Posted by edsg25

And when it comes to public US universities, there are four (again in that dang IMHO) that are viewed as the pantheon of public education: Cal, UCLA, UVa, U-M.

When you live in California, the name "U-M" does not automatically bring to mind the University of Michigan, IMO.

[edsg25]

Originally Posted by CA4Now

When you live in California, the name "U-M" does not automatically bring to mind the University of Michigan, IMO.

you are probably right....but, let's be honest....what other U-M could it possibly be (Mizzou, Maryland, UMass, Minnesota, Ole Miss? c'mon) ? Michigan's reputation is pretty well known, along the lines of the other three institutions.

[CA4Now]

Originally Posted by edsg25

...but, let's be honest....what other U-M could it possibly be (Mizzou, Maryland, UMass, Minnesota, Ole Miss? c'mon) ?

If you Google it--I had to--the first entry that came up was the University of Miami.

I guess I'm more familiar with the University of Chicago, which ranks way up there as well, than I am the University of Michigan.

[pacific2]

Originally Posted by edsg25

you are probably right....but, let's be honest....what other U-M could it possibly be (Mizzou, Maryland, UMass, Minnesota, Ole Miss? c'mon) ? Michigan's reputation is pretty well known, along the lines of the other three institutions.

I agree, UM (University of Michigan, Ann Arbor) has long been recognized as a top flight public university.

FWIW, it's #4 on the US News & World Report ranking of public universities:

Top Public Schools National Universities
https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges...ies/top-public

[edsg25]

Originally Posted by CA4Now

If you Google it--I had to--the first entry that came up was the University of Miami.

I guess I'm more familiar with the University of Chicago, which ranks way up there as well, than I am the University of Michigan.

U of C is a private university (and I am not only a Chicagoan, I was born in a hospital on its campus) as is the University of Miami. I had stated "public universities". However, I will concede your point: writing U-M was not the best way to express it and certainly I would have been better off with UMich.

[edsg25]

Originally Posted by pacific2

I agree, UM (University of Michigan, Ann Arbor) has long been recognized as a top flight public university.

FWIW, it's #4 on the US News & World Report ranking of public universities:

Top Public Schools National Universities
https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges...ies/top-public

Yep. For a long, long time, our very best public universities, it would seem, have been in Berkeley, Westwood, Charlottesville and Ann Arbor.

[edsg25]

But does anyone have an answer to my question here, my theory on UCLA?????

[Vic Romano]

Originally Posted by edsg25

But does anyone have an answer to my question here, my theory on UCLA?????

No, because only somebody who lives outside of California would take time to come up with that theory. I especially don't care since I went to USC (the University of Southern California to you!).

I also never heard anything about UNLV objecting to UNR being called Nevada. It's referred to as Nevada all the time, even on sports channels. And by the way the basketball team is rated No. 5 in the nation.

Go Trojans! Go Wolfpack!

[CA4Now]

Originally Posted by Vic Romano

No, because only somebody who lives outside of California would take time to come up with that theory.

That's probably true.

In California, the Master Plan was probably markedly different than plans for higher education in other states. https://www.ucop.edu/acadinit/mastplan/mpsummary.htm