When Chapel Hill Town Councilwoman Penny Rich first moved to Chapel Hill, she thought the town was all about basketball.
“I still very much think there is a basis around the University,” she said. “But people in Chapel Hill really just take pride in education. Chapel Hill is the education mecca of the South.”
Rich, along with almost 80 other town and University leaders, spent part of this week in Bloomington, Ind. for the Chapel Hill-Carrboro Chamber of Commerce bi-annual Inter-City Visit.
Bloomington is home to Indiana University, and the town is similar in size to Chapel Hill Carrboro area. Chapel Hill leaders said they look forward to the chance to learn about downtown economic development, city planning and University-Town relationships from their Indiana counterparts.
On Sunday afternoon, town leaders had the chance to engage in a conversation about community branding.
And Rich isn’t the only who thinks Orange County has been branded by the strong university presence.
“It’s UNC. We are such a college town, even since the school opened. To deny that is such a mistake,” said Councilman Jim Ward.
Hillsborough Planning Director Margaret Hauth said surrounding cities also benefit from UNC’s internationally recognizable name.
“In our discussions, we all agreed to a brand that we can all live with,” said Hauth during the conversation in Bloomington. “The Chapel Hill name clearly carries more weight and places like Hillsborough can piggyback on that and still remain unique.”
But Councilwoman Donna Bell said she thinks there is so much more to Chapel Hill than just UNC and its students.
“There are things we are known for like our music scene and food,” she said. “Chapel Hill just might not have a specific brand right now.”
Town leaders said they were excited to learn something new during their time in Bloomington and bring back ideas to their different departments this year.
“I’m interested in hearing about the entrepreneurship certificate program at their community college. I like the idea of taking entrepreneurship into the communities,”said Bell.
Hauth said she was eager to keep an open mind throughout the trip.
“It’s just so easy to take something valuable back from these trips,” she said. “You don’t always have to know what you are looking for before you go.”
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