Names and Titles | Communications

Use a person's full name, unless he or she is widely known or prefers a less formal address or nickname.

Avoid courtesy titles, such as Ms. or Mr., except in direct quotes or in obituaries.

Capitalize titles before names, except in the case of a faculty member’s general title (i.e. assistant professor). Use “chair” for both men and women, avoid “chairman” or “chairwoman.”

Vice President of Admissions, Financial Aid and Enrollment Matt Malatesta appeared on WAMC to discuss new trends in the higher education admissions process.
Many people are involved with visual arts talks, exhibitions and events on campus, including Sheri Lullo, associate professor of art history.
The Florence B. Sherwood Professor of Life Sciences Jeffrey Corbin is a plant ecologist who studies questions at the intersection of community and ecosystem ecology.

Lowercase titles after names:

Katherine DeSieno, senior associate dean of Admissions, said this year’s incoming class includes students from 40 states and 50 countries.
Publications by Claire Bracken, professor of English, focus on Irish culture, post feminism, feminist criticism, and women’s writing.

There are exceptions for endowed, named positions. For these, capitalize all the words in the title on first reference, and afterward use a shortened version with the “chair” or “professor” in lowercase.

Jeffrey Corbin, the Florence B. Sherwood Professor of Life Sciences, does fascinating research on plant ecology.
The Sherwood professor gave a lecture for the public last night.

Note: Professors may be appointed to endowed chairs, or may hold endowed chairs, but they cannot be endowed chairs.

Also: It’s usually a chair in a field, but a professor of a field.

If citing a professor’s discipline, be sure to indicate the particular field, which may not be the same as the department name:

Charles Batson, professor of French, is a member of the Department of Modern Languages and Literature.

Like most collective nouns, “faculty” and “staff” are generally used as singular nouns, but common usage allows them to be plural as well:

Best: Faculty members are devoted to undergraduate teaching, or the faculty is devoted to undergraduate teaching.
Also OK: Faculty are devoted to undergraduate teaching.

When citing a title alone, use lowercase:

It's best to check with the dean regarding information in the Academic Register.

Do not capitalize appositive phrases that describe a person’s role but that aren’t full, formal job titles:

Formal job title: According to Director of Student Activities Emily Rocha, the students at last night's meeting did an excellent job of brainstorming new club activities.
Role description: According to student activities head Emily Rocha, the students did an excellent job of brainstorming new club activities.

In citing people, use their first and last names on first reference, and their last names only (without any title such as Mr., Ms., Prof., or Dr.) on subsequent reference:

Smith gathered with Greenfield and Chen at the Minerva House barbecue.

When people have the same last name, subsequent references will need to include both their first and last names:

The program featured visiting artists Lucy and John Ives, along with Dance Director Jane Doe. Lucy Ives is the founder of the Children’s Dance Institute in New York City, where John serves as rehearsal director.

Omit the comma before “Jr.” or “Sr.”

When a name ending in “s” is made possessive, add an apostrophe and another “s”:

Cameron Jones’s door is always open.

Exceptions: Moses’ law, Jesus’ teachings, Isis’ temple (no one else)

When referring to family members by pluralizing their last name, add “s” or “es” even if the name itself already ends in “s”:

The Joneses donated a new building and created a scholarship, but the Smiths’ gift was unrestricted.

When using “emeritus” – or, for women, “emerita” – place it immediately after “professor,” not after the discipline. Capitalize it as a formal title before a name but not when used as a descriptive term following a name:

Professor Emeritus of Philosophy Carlos Rodriguez gave a lecture on existentialism.
Carlos Rodriguez, professor emeritus of philosophy, attended the UNITAS ceremony with Michael Smith, professor emeritus of philosophy. Or: Professor Emeriti of Biological Sciences Carlos Rodriguez and Michael Smith attended the UNITAS ceremony.

On first reference, alumni should be listed with their class year after their name:

The writing award went to Amelia Grant ’18, a memoirist. Grant received $10,000 and a trip to New York City to meet with agents and publishers.

When there are two family members in the same sentence who are alumni, place the class year after the first name.

Armand V. ’42 and Donald S. ’46 Feigenbaum, brothers and innovators