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As a North Carolina native, I’ve always considered the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill to be synonymous with “UNC.” It was the first public university in the United States, and the only one to graduate students in the eighteenth century. The institution itself owns the trademark for UNC, as well as the domain name.
The University of North Carolina family of schools actually has 16 different university campuses, most with disparate brands. Some institutions utilize a brand extension approach to identify themselves as part of the University of North Carolina family, including Asheville (UNCA), Charlotte (UNCC), Greensboro (UNCG), Pembroke (UNCP), and Wilmington (UNCW). But with other constituents of the University of North Carolina family adopting a different style of naming (Appalachian State, NC State, East Carolina, etc), it looks like the system needs some consistent brand standards. Does the brand extension approach for some universities imply that they are simply an additional campus of the main school and not their own entity? And do those universities that distance themselves in naming structure from the UNC family heritage do a disservice to their students and alumni?
The student body of UNCC has been asking that question recently, with a proposed name change to the “University of Charlotte.”
Confusion with the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill was cited in several instances, claiming that the Chapel Hill school is benefiting from media and various publications that report on “graduates of UNC,” when in fact these entities are referring to the Charlotte-based school.
So what’s the right course of action? Is breaking away from the perceived “master brand” a smart move for the Queen City university?
