Editorial Style and Usage Guide | Colgate University

An editorial style guide for Colgate Magazine, colgate.edu pages and articles, brochures, email announcements, newsletters, letters, and more.

The Associated Press Stylebook

Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary (or m-w.com)

Garner’s Modern American Usage

Roget’s International Thesaurus

Read through several times. With each pass, look for a specific set of criteria: grammar and spelling; dates, page numbers, and factual accuracy; and fonts, tabs, spacing, and other layout concerns.

Read aloud to yourself.
Don’t just read the text; compare it to your original version or source materials, if available.
Find fresh eyes. If you have originated a document, ask someone else who is not familiar with the material to proofread it for you.
Read the entire document backward; you’d be surprised at the mistakes you can catch.

Checklist

The following are the items that the communications staff members ask clients to have verified and checked before turning copy over for editorial review:

People and proper names: spelling, job titles
Class years
Proprietary facts or data (information known primarily or exclusively by your office)
Dates
Addresses
Phone numbers

Consult the Associated Press Stylebook for punctuation rules not outlined below.

apostrophe. No apostrophe in uppercase abbreviations (POWs, GEs, MAs, As and Bs. Use ’70s, not 70’s). Note direction of apostrophe when it precedes numerals such as a year or decade; to achieve ’ before

numerals, on a Mac, type shift/option/closed bracket (]), and on a PC, type Alt + 0146 (use the numeric keypad and not the top number row, which will not work for this command).

PLURALS AND POSSESSIVES. In general, the possessive of most singular nouns is formed by adding an apostrophe and an s, and the possessive of most plural nouns by adding an apostrophe only.

The general rule applies to proper nouns (including names ending in x, z, or ce) as well as letters and numbers (Marx’s comedy, Gutierrez’s house, 2004’s rainfall record).

For singular proper names ending in s, add only an apostrophe (e.g., Achilles’ heel).

Exceptions to the general rule include nouns that are plural in form but singular in meaning, including place or organization names that are in plural form ending in s whose entity is singular (politics’ ultimate impact, the United States’ economy after World War II); words ending in an eez sound, and words and names ending in an unpronounced s (Descartes’ philosophy); and for . . . sake expressions when the noun ends in an s or an s sound (for goodness’ sake, for righteousness’ sake).

To indicate joint possession or closely linked proper names treated as a unit, use an apostrophe with the last noun only (Joe and Mary’s house). To show individual possession, make each noun possessive (Joe’s and Mary’s clothes were hung on the clothesline.). Apostrophes also imply of in the genitive case (an hour’s delay, in three days’ time). Consult the Associated Press Stylebook for other exceptions and guidelines.

brackets. Corrections, explanations, or comments within quoted material, or editor’s notes, should be bracketed (“People [here in Iraq] have the right to express themselves. That’s why I’m here.”). Brackets are also used as parentheses within parentheses: Writing courses (both in the humanities [four] and social sciences [three]) will be offered next year.

bullets. Bulleted items that conclude an introductory sentence should be lowercased and punctuated with a comma or semicolon at the end of each item except for the last. Use the word and before the last bulleted item, and end the sentence with a period.

Example:

On “extended studies” of three to four weeks, students and faculty members have:

• studied the interaction of family, work, and public policy in Denmark;

• examined the material culture of Rome and Pompeii; and

• immersed themselves in New York City theater.

Bulleted items that are not part of an introductory sentence may be upper- or lowercase and may end with either periods or no punctuation. Format should be consistent within given context and within the publication.

Example:

Colgate offers six cultural studies minors:

• African studies

• African American studies

• Caribbean studies

• Jewish studies

• Middle Eastern and Islamic studies

• Southeast Asian studies

Usually there is a space between the bullet and the first word of each item.

colon. Introduces elements or a series of elements illustrating or amplifying what precedes the colon (Colgate has four divisions: humanities, natural sciences and mathematics, social sciences, and university studies.). The first word after a colon is lowercased, unless it is a proper name, it introduces a quotation, or the colon introduces two or more sentences (The program offers three things: training, counseling, and financial support. We hope to accomplish two goals: We need to get the word out about our program. We also have to raise enough money to cover two years’ worth of events. Joe had this to say: “He has had enough.”).

comma. Always use the serial comma; it prevents ambiguity. (We ate peas, ham, and macaroni and cheese.).

Use a comma to separate independent clauses that are joined by and, but, for, or, nor, because, or so (The taxi never showed up, so we took a bus.).

A dependent clause that precedes a main clause should be separated by a comma (If you don’t let go, I’m going to scream.).

Nonrestrictive words, abbreviations, phrases, or clauses in apposition to nouns (i.e., omittable, supplementary rather than essential) are set off by commas; if restrictive (i.e., essential to the noun), no commas should appear (He met his second wife, Mary, and her son John in Albuquerque [she has two sons]. They performed Neil Simon’s play Brighton Beach Memoirs last semester [Simon wrote several plays].).

Used in introductory words and phrases such as adverbial or participial phrases, especially if a slight pause is intended; a single word or very short phrase may not require a comma unless to avoid misreading (In June they established the new center. Before eating, the cat circled the dish. On the other hand, I didn’t care for that film. After the semester was over, they went home for a break. To Professor Hughes, teaching was the most enjoyable pastime.).

A comma introduces brief quoted material (colons introduce long quotations). (He said, “Oh, my gosh, it’s great to see you!”)

dash. There are two types of dashes. Neither is to be substituted with hyphens.

em dash. Used either singly or in pairs, to set off an amplifying or explanatory element (Colgate’s four divisions — humanities, natural sciences and mathematics, social sciences, and university studies — work together to offer many interdisciplinary courses.). Type option-shift-hyphen or use the Symbol table under Insert in Microsoft Word. Surround em dashes with single spaces.

en dash. Used in place of to, indicating continuing or inclusive numbers, such as dates, times, or reference numbers (1944–52, June–January, 9 a.m.–5 p.m. Jane Doe [1980–]). Type option-hyphen or use the Symbol table under Insert in Microsoft Word.

If the word from precedes the first element, use the word to instead of the en dash; similarly, if between precedes the first element, use and instead of the en dash. No spaces around en dashes.

Also used to link a city to a university with more than one campus or if one-half of a hyphenated term is a compound (University of California–Los Angeles; the small-animal–hospital emergency room; New York–area restaurants).

ellipses. Use three periods, surrounded by spaces (His voice trailed off . . . until he regained his composure.). If a sentence is broken across two pages, the ellipsis accompanies the first portion; do not add a second ellipsis. See the Associated Press Stylebook for other guidelines.

If an ellipsis precedes a period or other punctuation, attach the mark without leaving a space (He yelled, and then his voice trailed off . . ..).

exclamation point. Should be avoided; rewrite a sentence to reflect emphasis. If used, exclamation points are placed inside quotation marks only when they are part of the quoted matter (“Put that down!”).

hyphen, hyphenated words. The trend is away from hyphenation in current usage. Although hyphens can often be omitted in commonly used words, they should be used to prevent ambiguity (He recovered from illness. She re-covered the upholstered chair.).

Compound nouns. Many compound nouns are hyphenated (sister-in-law, follow-up, one-half, well-being, 3-year-old, student-athlete).

Some noun compounds are NOT hyphenated (day care, vice president).

Some noun compounds are written as one word (campuswide, coursework, database, fundraising, horseback, lifelong, nationwide, online).

Compound adjectives. Some compound adjectives are hyphenated (10-foot pole, 5-foot-3 inch–tall person, 18th-century poets, 250-pound foot locker, all-inclusive measures, blue-green water, cost-effective spending, low-level toxic waste, long-lived ancestors, matter-of-fact comment, problem-solving skills).

Some compound adjectives are not hyphenated (eastern European countries, food service industry, health care plan).

Some compound adjectives are written as one word (fivefold decrease, nonprofit agency, statewide budget cuts).

Adverb-verb compounds. Hyphenated, but not when the adverb ends in ly (an ill-fated attempt, a thinly veiled disguise, a well-marked road).

Prefixes. Words with prefixes carry a hyphen when the prefix stands alone (over- and understated, macro- and microeconomics). Words beginning with “co”: Retain the hyphen when forming nouns, adjectives, and verbs that indicate occupation or status. For example, co-founder, co-author, co-host, co-chair, co-owner, co-pilot, co-sponsor, co-signer, co-worker. Use no hyphen in other combinations: coeducation, cooperative, coordinate, coexist, copay.

Use a hyphen between a prefix and a proper name (mid-Atlantic, pre-Colgate, pro-Kmart).

Capitalization. When hyphenated words appear in titles, capitalize both words (Fifteenth-Century Dynasty, High-Level Meetings).

parentheses. Use parentheses to include useful information for the reader: James began his run up High Street (he liked to warm up with a steep incline) and headed out toward the boardwalk.

Use parentheses to enclose numbers or letters that denote items in a list: The agenda will include (1) brainstorming, (2) ice-breaker exercises, and (3) lunch.

Punctuation: Place the period outside the closing parenthesis if the material inside is not a complete sentence (such as this fragment).

A complete sentence within parentheses that does not stand within another sentence has the end punctuation before the closing parenthesis: And then he ate. (He was famished.)

period. Single space, not double space, after periods (likewise with colons and semicolons).

When a URL or an email address ends the sentence, use a period.

quotation marks. Quotation marks are used to enclose a direct quotation and titles of short works such as articles, songs, poems, and lectures (see titles [of original works or similar] for more).

Whether single or double, closing quotation marks follow a period or comma, and precede a colon or semicolon (“Let’s go,” he said. She sang “America”; he applauded.).

A dash, question mark, or exclamation point falls within the quotation marks when they refer only to the quoted matter; they fall outside when they refer to the whole sentence (“You’ve got to be kidding!” he exclaimed. How many times are you going to say “I don’t know”?).

Use single quotes within double quotes (The man said, “I heard her say, ‘Don’t do it!’ and then I left.”)

When a quotation is longer than one paragraph, use quotation marks at the beginning of each paragraph but only at the end of the last paragraph.

When preparing a manuscript in Microsoft Word, take care to note that the “smart quotes” function is turned on in order to enable “curly quotes.”

semicolon. Use a semicolon when you want to tie together two main clauses rather than keeping them as two sentences (It was really hot today; we ate ice cream.).

Use when element(s) in a series involves internal commas (Always consult a doctor when you have a fever, blisters, or severe headache; have a history of high blood pressure in your family; or if the pain persists for more than two days.).

Use a semicolon to link independent clauses connected by consequently, however, moreover, nevertheless, otherwise, and therefore (I would like to leave at 3 p.m. today; therefore, I plan to work through my lunch hour to make up the time. He planned to go to the concert; however, he had a flat tire and missed it entirely.).

special formatting/typographic matters. Use one space, not two, following any mark of punctuation that ends a sentence, whether a period, question mark, exclamation point, or closing quotation marks.

All punctuation marks should appear in the same font (roman or italic) as the main or surrounding text, except for punctuation that belongs to a title or an exclamation in a different font (The book is titled The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, but everyone knows it as just Huckleberry Finn. Willa Cather’s O Pioneers! was a favorite in my class.).

academic degrees. Use apostrophes in bachelor’s degree, master’s, etc., but no apostrophe with bachelor of arts or master of arts in teaching. Lowercase degrees, including disciplines, except for proper nouns (master’s degree in English literature, master of arts in teaching degree). Simply master’s or bachelor’s (without degree) is acceptable.

No periods in abbreviations MAT, MA, MS, AB, PhD, etc. Avoid redundancies such as Dr. John Smith, MD.

The undergraduate degree awarded by Colgate is officially an artium baccalaureus. For editorial purposes, the communications office uses the vernacular: bachelor’s degree, bachelor of arts, or BA.

academic leave of absence (lowercase)

academic titles. See titles (of persons).

accessibility. Use the terms “accessible parking” and “accessible elevators” rather than handicapped. See also disabilities.

acronyms. Well-known acronyms (NFL, NASA) can be used on first reference, and periods are not necessary. On first reference, spell out institutional acronyms that may be unfamiliar to the audience (the Center for Outreach, Volunteerism, and Education, rather than the COVE), put the acronym in parentheses, and then use the acronym throughout.

administrative titles. See titles (of persons).

admission(s). At Colgate, the department is referred to in the singular case (admission office), but use “college admissions” when talking about the concept in general.

adviser. Not advisor, unless it is spelled that way as part of a person’s official title.

affect, effect. Affect is a verb meaning “to influence” or “to make an impact upon” (Exposure to sun affects your skin.). Effect is a noun; otherwise, as a verb, it means “to bring about or to execute” (We measured the effects of sun on skin. He was hired to effect change in the department.).

African American. No hyphen for either the noun or the adjective.

ages. Always use numerals.

alma mater. Lowercase, no italics, both when referring to Colgate as the school from which one has graduated or the song.

alumni. Use alumnus for an individual who identifies as male, alumna for an individual who identifies as female, alumni for a group of male-identifying people, alumnae for a group of female-identifying people. Use alumni when referring to a group composed of men and women (never “alumni/ae”). The gender-neutral term is graduate.

You should not use alum or alums in writing because they are colloquial terms; use only in informal direct quotations and when the meaning is clear (because alum is also a type of chemical compound).

When appropriate, consider using the alternative graduate to reduce repetition.

Note: It is preferable to always identify alumni with the class year in publications. Anyone who has attended Colgate for at least one semester is considered an alumna or alumnus, regardless of whether or not the individual actually graduated from Colgate.

Alumni Council. Formally called the Alumni Corporation Board of Directors in its bylaws and tax filings, but more commonly referred to as the Alumni Council. The acronym ACBOD is no longer used.

Alumni Memorial Scholars program

alumni names and class years. See class years.

Alumni of Color organization (can be abbreviated as AOC after first reference)

a.m. TIME: Lowercase, with periods (not AM or am). For more on time style, see time. RADIO: Use FM and AM (WRCU 90.1 FM).

American Indian. No hyphen. Native American is also acceptable; however, while some use the terms interchangeably, others prefer one over the other. In many cases, the tribal affiliation is the most appropriate term.

ampersand. Use only when it is an official part of a name or title (AT&T, Simon & Schuster). Never use in body copy in place of and.

and/or. Avoid this construction; rephrase instead.

annual. An event cannot be described as annual until it has been held for at least two successive years (RIGHT: We held the first Colgate Arts! Festival in 2005 and hope it becomes an annual event. WRONG: He attended the first annual Madison County Hopfest.).

annual fund. Lowercase in general references; the University’s official program name is the Colgate Annual Fund. (The campaign will boost contributions to the annual fund. He gave a gift to the Colgate Annual Fund.)

anti-racism. Hyphenated and lowercase, per AP style.

apostrophe. See punctuation section.

archaeology/archaeologist. Not archeology/archeologist.

artist-in-residence. Hyphenate before a name and when part of a formal title. (Kenny Barron served as the Christian A. Johnson Endeavor Foundation artist-in-residence. We talked to artist-in-residence Jean Smith.) After a name or in generic references, no hyphen. (Colgate sponsors several artists in residence each year.)

as/like. As is a conjunction linking two clauses (Do as I do.); like is a preposition introducing a comparison (My house is like a barn.). “As” is not a substitute for “because” or “for example” (RIGHT: I missed the dinner dance because I was sick. WRONG: I missed the dinner dance, as I was sick.).

Asian American. No hyphen for either the noun or the adjective.

Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. The acronym AAPI is widely used by people within these communities. Spell out the full term on first reference and abbreviate on subsequent references.

assure, ensure, insure. Assure means “to inform with the intent of removing doubt.” Ensure means “to guarantee.” Insure means “to establish a contract for insurance.”

athletics. Colgate athletics teams are known as Raiders; athletes who identify as female are not called Lady Raiders. It is the Department of Athletics or athletics department, not the athletic department. Also see sports.

athletics facilities. See buildings and sites.

Athletics Hall of Honor. Recognizes extraordinary alumni athletes.

attribution. Attribute statements that are not widely known or that are a matter of opinion and subject to disagreement (Twenty-five percent of Colgate’s annual expenditure on financial aid is drawn from the endowment, according to a recent report.). Also see “said, says.”

baccalaureate. Noun meaning bachelor’s degree, a sermon to a graduating class, or the service during which the sermon is delivered. Not baccalaureate degree, which would be repetitive.

bachelor of arts degree, bachelor’s degree. See also academic degrees.

Benton Scholars Program

Bicentennial. Capitalize when specifically referring to Colgate’s celebration of 200 years.

BIPOC, POC, BAME. Do not use these acronyms unless a person uses them in a quote or if an organization/group refers to itself as such. If used in a quote, use the acronym and then spell it out in brackets. If used in language by an organization or group, spell it out on first reference followed by the acronym in parentheses; the acronym may be used in subsequent references. The acronyms stand for: Black, Indigenous, and people of color; people of color; and Black, Asian, and minority ethnic.

Black. Capitalize when using as a person’s racial or ethnic identifier as well as in a cultural sense. Lowercase when referring to the color.

Blackmore Media Center. Named for Robert L. Blackmore ’41.

Board of Trustees. Lowercase the board on second reference, and lowercase trustee.

bookstore. The official name is the Colgate Bookstore. (Visit the Colgate Bookstore for textbooks and Colgate gear. I bought my sweatshirt at the bookstore.)

brackets. Use to add explanations or corrections to quoted material (“I told him [Joe] I’d meet him there.”) or as parentheses within parentheses.

Broad Street community

buildings and sites. Capitalize the names of buildings, including the word “building” if it is a part of the formal name.

FORMAL NAMES OF COLGATE BUILDINGS AND LANDMARKS. Colloquial and explanatory names or descriptors, as well as locations and alternative names/common second references, appear in parentheses. When referring to a specific room or location for an event, include the building name [Golden Auditorium, Little Hall]. This listing includes several properties that are owned by Colgate in the village.

ALANA Cultural Center

Alumni Hall

Athletics/recreational facilities

Andy Kerr Stadium

Biddle Way, Biddle Plaza, Dick Biddle video board
Crown Field
Frederick H. Dunlap Stands
Lahar-Abeltin Press Box

Angert Family Climbing Wall

Base Camp (Outdoor Education’s home)

Beyer-Small ’76 Field (soccer)

Charles H. Sanford Field House (Sanford Field House is usually sufficient)

Class of 1932 Track
Maroon Council Room

Class of 1965 Arena

Campbell Concourse
Mandel Lobby
Steven J. Riggs ’65 Rink
Tighe P. Sullivan ’83, P’16,’17,’19 Reception Suite (Sullivan Suite is usually sufficient)

Cotterell Court

Glendening Boathouse (on Lake Moraine)

Harry H. Lang Cross Country and Fitness Trail

Hooks Wiltse Field at the Eaton Street Softball Complex

Huntington Gymnasium

Wooster Room

J.W. Abrahamson Memorial Courts (tennis)

Lineberry Natatorium (pool)

Mark P. Buttitta ’74 Varsity Weight Room

Reid Athletic Center

R.L. Browning ’37 Track

Sanford Field House (see Charles H. Sanford Field House)

Seven Oaks Golf Club

Perkin-Sumption Practice Area
Seven Oaks Clubhouse

Starr Rink

Trudy Fitness Center

Tyler’s Field (outdoor artificial surface)

Van Doren Field (soccer field)

Benton Hall

Clifford Commons
Patricia Doyle Caprio Presidents’ Circle Leadership Reception Center
- Rosensweig Seminar Room
- Schlein Family Lobby

Bewkes Center

Bernstein Hall

Brehmer Theater (in Dana Arts Center)

Campus Safety Department

Case Library and Geyer Center for Information Technology (Case Library or Case-Geyer is usually sufficient)

Anita Grover MD ’74 and Tom Hargrove P’14 Digital Learning and Media Center (Digital Learning and Media Center is sufficient)
Chobani at the Hieber Café

Center for Learning, Teaching, and Research

Center for Women’s Studies

Chapel House

Colgate Bookstore

Colgate Camp

Colgate Inn

Colgate Memorial Chapel (use the chapel or Memorial Chapel on second reference)

Judd Chapel (Garden Level)

Conant House (home of the Office of Counseling and Psychological Services)

Cooley Science Library (official name is George R. Cooley Science Library)

Coop, the (O’Connor Campus Center)

COVE, the (Max A. Shacknai Center for Outreach, Volunteerism, and Education)

Dana Arts Center

East Hall

Edge Café

Foggy Bottom Observatory

Frank Dining Hall, Curtiss E. (Frank Dining Hall is usually sufficient)

George R. Cooley Science Library (Cooley Science Library or the science library is usually sufficient)

Hamilton Movie Theater

Hascall Hall

Heating Plant

Human Resources

James B. Colgate Hall

Hurwitz Admission Center

James C. Colgate Hall

Alton Lounge
Clark Room
Donovan’s Pub
Hall of Presidents

Lathrop Hall

Lawrence Hall

Ho Lecture Room
W.M. Keck Center for Language Study

Little Hall

Clifford Gallery
Eric J. Ryan Studio (Ryan Studio)
Golden Auditorium

Longyear Museum of Anthropology

Love Auditorium (in Olin Hall)

Lower Campus

Mat at Parker Commons, the

Max A. Shacknai Center for Outreach, Volunteerism, and Education (the COVE on second reference)

McGregory Hall

Merrill House

Middle Campus

O’Connor Campus Center (the Coop)

Olin Hall

Love Auditorium

Olmstead House

Palace Theater

Paul J. Schupf Studio Arts Center

Persson Hall

Persson Auditorium

Picker Art Gallery

Preston Hill Apartments

Residences (for students)

Fraternity and sorority houses
- Beta Theta Pi (88 Broad Street)
- Delta Delta Delta (84 Broad Street)
- Delta Upsilon (66 Broad Street)
- Gamma Phi Beta (72 Broad Street)
- Kappa Kappa Gamma (40 Broad Street)
- Phi Delta Theta (114 Broad Street)
- Phi Kappa Tau (92 Broad Street)
- Theta Chi (52 Broad Street)
94 Broad Street (Hancock Commons Social House)
100 Broad Street
104 Broad Street
110 Broad Street (Brown Commons Social House)
113 Broad St. Complex (Brigham, Read, Whitnall, Shepardson houses)
- Core (common space, home to the Shaw Wellness Institute)
Andrews Hall
Asia Interest House (118 Broad Street)
Bryan Complex (Parke, Cobb, Russell, and Crawshaw houses, home of the Harlem Renaissance Center)
Burke Hall
- David Rea ’82 Patio

Class of 1934 House (49 Broad Street)
Curtis Hall (home to the satellite student health clinic and Haven, the sexual violence resource center)
Cushman House (102 Broad Street, Ciccone Commons Social House)
Drake Hall
East Hall
Gate House
Jane Pinchin Hall
- Jennifer Rea ’82 Patio
La Casa Pan-Latina Americana (49 Broad Street)
Loj, the (70 Broad Street)
Newell Apartments
Parker Apartments
Ralph J. Bunche House (Bunche House, 80 Broad Street)
Stillman Hall
Townhouse Apartments
University Court Apartments
West Hall

Residential Commons

Brown Commons (East, Andrews, Gate House, Burke, 100 Hamilton Street, 110 Broad Street). The formal name is Coleman and Irene Brown Commons, but it is referred to as simply Brown Commons.
Ciccone Commons (Curtis, Drake, 102 Broad Street)
Dart Colegrove Commons (Stillman, West, Pinchin)
Hancock Commons (Bryan Complex, 94 Broad Street)

Raab House (president’s residence)

Robert H.N. Ho Mind, Brain, and Behavior Center (home of the Robert Hung Ngai Ho Mind, Brain, and Behavior Initiative)

Robert H.N. Ho Science Center (Ho Science Center is usually sufficient)

Cunniff Commons (atrium)
Ho Tung Visualization Lab (informally called the Vis Lab)
Meyerhoff Auditorium (101 Ho Science Center)
Robert M. Linsley Geology Museum

Saperstein Jewish Center

Golden Family Chapel

Spear House

Student Health Center

Trudy Fitness Center

Upper Campus

West Hall

Whitnall Field

Wynn Hall

campuswide

capitalization. When in doubt, use lowercase. In addition to grammatical correctness and style, the idea is to make text easy on the eyes for your reader. Capitalize proper nouns, not generic words that refer to proper nouns. In specific instances, the communications office publication designers might employ all capital letters or initial caps for typographical reasons at their discretion.

For a particular word or phrase, if there is no listing in this style guide, consult the Associated Press Stylebook or the Merriam-Webster dictionary.

Do not capitalize Colgate majors, minors, divisions, departments, or offices unless as a typographic style in list copy or when referring to an official title (He is a biology major. Division of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, Office of Admission, Department of English and Creative Writing; but natural sciences division, admission office, English and creative writing department).

Names of formal committees are capitalized, but general references to committees are not (He is a member of the Alumni Council Nominations Committee. I am on the marketing committee to advertise that program.).

Lowercase common words such as college, university, or state when listing several institutions with the same designation (We visited Colgate, Bucknell, and Lehigh universities. Both New York and Washington states passed an increased budget this year.).

captions (photo). Requires a period if caption is a full sentence, no period if a sentence fragment (Katy Graf ’06 wanders through the rooms in a residential dwelling in Pompeii. Selling organic produce at the Hamilton Farmer’s Market).

A good caption will enhance and clarify that which is not immediately apparent in the photo. In some cases, simply the name of the individual shown will suffice; use no period after a name line.

Career Services

catalog. This is the preferred spelling in American English. Do not use “catalogue.”

Center for Freedom and Western Civilization

Center for Language and Brain

Center for Learning, Teaching, and Research

Center for Outreach, Volunteerism, and Education (COVE). Formally called the Max A. Shacknai Center for Outreach, Volunteerism, and Education.

Center for Women’s Studies

central New York (note lowercase c)

century, centuries. See numbers.

chair, chairman, chairperson. Chair is used both as a verb and a noun and is widely regarded as the best gender-neutral choice (He chaired the meeting. The chair recognizes the legislator. Susan Jones, chair of the admission committee.).

You may, however, use chairman or chairwoman with specific references when the gender of the person is clear, or according to the preference of the person to whom you are referring. For an explanation of proper usage of chair in vs. professor of, see ACADEMIC TITLES under titles (of persons).

chapel. Lowercase unless using the official name of the building, Colgate Memorial Chapel.

city, state. Place one comma between the city and state name, and another comma after the state name, unless ending a sentence or indicating a dateline (He traveled to Nashville, Tenn., from Syracuse, N.Y.).

civil rights, civil rights movement (lowercase)

Class of. When referring to a specific class, capitalize (He is a member of the Class of 1999.). Lowercase when using multiple years (the classes of 1970, 1975, and 1980).

class years. To denote class year on a graduate’s name, use John Jones ’89 (no comma between name and year).

Keyboard command: To achieve an outward-facing apostrophe before class year numerals, on a Mac, use shift/option/apostrophe; on a PC, use control/shift/apostrophe.
If someone graduated from a class year for which the first two numbers need to be specified in order to eliminate confusion about the century (1925 vs. 2025), use the full year and add “Class of” beforehand. (RIGHT: John Smith, Class of 1925; Sam Jones ’25 [for the Class of 2025]).
For Colgate couples, place the class years adjacent to the names: Sam ’01 and Amy (Smith) ’03 Jones came to the reunion.
For Colgate couples who are parents, put their class years after their first names and their parental designations after their last name: Bob ’80 and Sylvia ’81 Smith P’11,’20.
For grandparents, add GP and the student(s) class year(s) (Bob Smith GP’17, Bob Smith GP’17,’19).
For honorary degree recipients, use James Jones H’95 (no space between H and the apostrophe).
For master’s degree recipients, use Eric Brown MA’88, Jenny Jones MAT’99 (no space between degree and the apostrophe).
For parental designation, add a P with the student(s) class year(s). Separate multiple student class years with commas (Bob Smith ’79, P’08,’09,’12).
If a person has a Colgate degree, an honorary degree, and is a parent, keep the person’s degrees together and then list parental designation (Bob Smith ’80, H’07, P’10).
Possessives: Find a way to rephrase to avoid making the class year possessive (RIGHT: We found the dog belonging to John Jones ’89 running around. WRONG: We found John Smith ’89’s dog running around.).

classics, classical. See also historical periods.

co-author, co-chair, co-wrote See more in punctuation section.

coed (coeducational). Don’t use coed as a noun (use female student); coed may be used as an adjective (He chose to live in coed housing.).

Colgate Magazine, the. The official magazine of Colgate University.

Colgate Maroon-News, the. Colgate’s student newspaper. Use the Maroon-News on second reference. For those composing obituaries, note the following in order to accurately specify a person’s involvement: From 1968 to 1991, there were two student papers, the Colgate Maroon (founded 1916) and the Colgate News; the two merged in 1992.

Colgate University. Use Colgate or the University on second reference. It is preferable on second reference to refer to Colgate as “the University” rather than “the college.”

Colgate University Catalog

commas. Use the serial (Oxford) comma before “and” as well as “or” in a series to ensure clarity (Joe ate peas, ham, and bread. Jen went swimming with the divers, Sam, and Ed [to make clear that Sam and Ed are not the divers, but rather, joined Jen and a group of divers]). Likewise, for the final in a series separated by semicolons, the last two elements should be separated by a semicolon (Carmella, Meadow, and AJ Soprano; Oscar, Lucille, and Buster Bluth; and Michael, Kay, and Don Corleone met at the restaurant.). See also the punctuation section.

commencement. Lowercase, except when referring to a specific event (He celebrated his commencement in 1988. We attended Commencement 2003.).

committees. Names of formal committees are capitalized, but general references to committees are not (He is a member of the Alumni Council Nominations Committee. I am on the marketing committee to advertise that program.).

commons, the. See Residential Commons.

community leader. On second reference, abbreviate to CL. This is a student residential life position; serves as a mentor and resource in student residences (akin to an RA).

compose, comprise, constitute. These terms are not interchangeable. Compose means to create or put together. It can be used in both the active and passive voice. (Johnny Marks ’31 composed “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.” That yarn is composed of merino wool, silk, and linen.) Comprise means “to contain, include all, or embrace” and is best used only in the active voice; the whole comprises its parts. Not to be used with of (This nation comprises 50 states.). Constitute is often the best choice when neither compose nor comprise seems to fit (Six girls and five boys constitute the soccer team.).

computer terms

blog
database
dot-com
email
homepage
inbox
internet
Listserv. Capitalize this trademarked name.
login, logon, logoff. As a verb, use two-word form (log in to a network, log on to a computer).
offline, online
podcast
portal
web, website, webcam, webcast, webpage

When listing web addresses in print materials, it is not necessary to include http and/or www. (e.g., Colgate.edu).

concentration. The official term is major at Colgate (Colgate offers a range of majors. He is an English major.). For a complete list, see colgate.edu/majors.

Lowercase the names of majors except for proper nouns and where initial caps are used for design/typographical convention in list form (environmental biology, English, Romance languages and literatures).

conference titles. Full official names of conferences and symposia should be capitalized (1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development). Don’t treat appendages such as “annual meeting” as part of titles; lowercase them (27th annual Alumni Council meeting).

Core. When referring to the Liberal Arts Core Curriculum, capitalize both Core and Core Curriculum.

course titles. Use roman type with initial caps; no quotation marks or italics necessary (As a junior, he took Religion 332: Contemporary Religious Thought.).

coursework

COVID-19. All uppercase as indicated; variants are lowercase (e.g., delta, omicron). See also endemic, epidemic, pandemic.

credits (academic). The term credit hours is redundant; use credits.

credits (photo). If supplying photographs to the Office of University Communications for a publication or webpage, please be sure to supply the name of the photographer.

cum laude. Italicized but lowercased.

Dancefest

dash. See punctuation section.

data. Uses a plural verb (The data are complete.).

dates, days. Use month-day-year sequence with comma before and after year (On June 29, 1995, they left for Portugal.). No comma when only the month and year are used (June 1995). Also, June 29, not June 29th — the “th” is used in place of the month (I’ll see you on the 29th. Our meeting is scheduled for June 29.) Abbreviate months only when specific dates follow (On Jan. 4, Max and Molly left for Colgate. On Jan. 4, 2022, Max and Molly left for Colgate.).

dean’s list. Appears on award presented to students as Dean’s Award. Otherwise, capitalize and use as shown.

decades. Use either words or numbers, but remain consistent (She grew up in the ’80s, whereas he grew up in the ’90s. The sixties and seventies were a time of political and social turbulence.). If using numbers, do not add an apostrophe before an “s” (RIGHT: The 1960s, the ’60s. WRONG: The 1960’s, the ’60’s).

degrees. See academic degrees or temperature.

departments, divisions, and programs (academic). Capitalize formal names of divisions, programs, and departments (most of which begin “Department of . . .”). In body copy, informal names are lowercase, except for proper nouns (He visited the Department of Art, but took courses in the English department and the philosophy department. She called the humanities division but also contacted the Division of Social Sciences. He participates in outdoor education activities, but he works for the Outdoor Education Program.).

FORMAL NAMES AT COLGATE

Division of Arts and Humanities

Department of Art
Department of the Classics
Department of East Asian Languages and Literatures
Department of English and Creative Writing
Department of German
Department of Music
Department of Philosophy
Department of Religion
Department of Romance Languages and Literatures
Department of Theater

Division of Natural Sciences and Mathematics

Department of Biology
Department of Chemistry
Department of Computer Science
Department of Earth and Environmental Geosciences
Department of Mathematics
Department of Physics and Astronomy
Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences

Division of Physical Education, Recreation, and Athletics

Department of Athletics
Department of Physical Education and Recreation
Outdoor Education Program

Division of Social Sciences

Department of Economics
Department of Educational Studies
Department of Geography
Department of History
Department of Political Science (includes International Relations Program)
Department of Sociology and Anthropology

Division of University Studies

Africana and Latin American Studies Program
Asian Studies Program
Environmental Studies Program
Film and Media Studies Program
Jewish Studies Program
LGBTQ Studies Program
Liberal Arts Core Curriculum
Linguistics Program
Medieval and Renaissance Studies Program
Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies, Program in
Museum Studies Program
Native American Studies Program
Peace and Conflict Studies Program
Russian and Eurasian Studies Program
Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Program
Writing and Rhetoric, Department of

Office of Undergraduate Studies (OUS)

departments ( administrative). Capitalize formal names of programs and departments (many of which begin “Office of”); lowercase informal references. (For more information, contact the Office of Admission. He stopped by the admission office. He participated in several human resources training programs.).

FORMAL NAMES OF COLGATE ADMINISTRATIVE DEPARTMENTS

Academic Support and Disability Services
Accounting and Control, Office of
Admission, Office of
Advancement, Office of
ALANA Cultural Center
Alumni Relations, Office of
Athletics Communications, Office of
Budget and Decision Support, Office of
Campus Safety Department
Career Services
Center for Learning, Teaching, and Research
Center for Women’s Studies
Chaplains, Office of the
Colgate Annual Giving (annual giving on second reference)
Colgate Bookstore
Colgate University Press
Conference Services and Summer Programs, Office of
Corporate, Foundation, and Government Relations, Office of (grants office)
Counseling and Psychological Services, Office of
Dean of the College, Office of the
Dining Services, Colgate
Emergency Management, Office of
Environmental Health and Safety, Office of
Equity and Diversity, Office of
Facilities Department
Finance and Administration, Division of
Financial Aid, Office of
Fraternity and Sorority Advising, Office of
Haven (the sexual violence resource center)
Human Resources Department
Japanese Studies Center
Information Technology Services
Institutional Analysis, Office of
International Student Services, Office of (OISS)
Investment, Office of
LGBTQ+ Initiatives, Office of
Libraries, Colgate University
Mail Services
Max A. Shacknai Center for Outreach, Volunteerism, and Education (COVE)
Off-Campus Study, Office of
Physical Education, Recreation, and Athletics, Division of
Picker Art Gallery
President, Office of the
Provost and Dean of the Faculty, Office of the
Purchasing Department
Registrar, Office of the
Residential Life, Office of
Robert A. Fox ’59 Leadership Institute
Robert Ho Center for Chinese Studies
Shaw Wellness Institute
Special Collections and University Archives
Student Health Services
Student Involvement, Office of (OSI)
Sustainability, Office of
Treasurer, Office of the
Undergraduate Studies, Office of (OUS)
University Communications, Office of
University Printing (formerly known as Document Services)
University Relations
Upstate Institute at Colgate University (Upstate Institute is usually sufficient)
Writing and Speaking Center

dimensions. When dimensions (including fractions) appear in body copy, use numerals (He used an 8 1/2 by 11–inch piece of paper. The room was 9.5 by 12 feet. It was a 9- by 12-foot room.).

disabilities. The word “handicapped” should never be used. Because people have different preferences, check with them about how they want to be described whenever possible. Some prefer person-first language (i.e., person with a disability) while others prefer identity-first language (i.e., disabled person). Do not use phrases like “suffering from” or “bound to a wheelchair”; instead say “has/experiences an illness/condition” and “uses a wheelchair.” Lastly, use “accessible parking” and “accessible elevators” instead of “handicapped.”

Distinction, High Distinction. Special academic designations earned through elective courses in Colgate’s Liberal Arts Core Curriculum.

distribution requirement. Lowercase.

Division I (note Roman numeral I, not Arabic number 1)

doctor, Dr. For professors, do not use Dr. as a prefix; professor is the proper term. Identify individuals instead by title or professional area (biologist Sam Smith; Rob Jones, geography professor).

Use Dr. only in the first reference as a formal title before the name of an individual who holds a doctor of medicine or veterinary medicine degree (Dr. Jonas Salk is credited with creating the polio vaccine. Salk died in 1995.).

dollars. The dollar sign is usually preferable to the word; do not use both at the same time (The University invested $12 million, not The University invested $12 million dollars.).

dormitory, dorm. Residence hall is the preferred term.

dos and don’ts. Not do’s and don’t’s.

drink, drank, drunk. Drink is the present tense of the verb, drank is the past tense, and drunk is the past participle (or, the state of intoxication). Drank and drunk are not interchangeable. (I like to drink milk. He drank the juice. The water was drunk by the runners. She had drunk the coffee. The man was clearly drunk.)

drop/add period. Lowercase.

Early Decision. Capitalize when referring to the Early Decision program or an Early Decision candidate. References to regular decision are lowercased.

Earth. Capitalize when referring to the proper name of the planet; otherwise, lowercase.

Eastern. Lowercase when referring to regions. Capitalize in reference to culture and customs (He grew up in eastern Texas. The student studies Eastern religions.).

effect. See affect, effect.

e.g. Means “for example” and is followed by a comma; often confused with i.e., which means “that is.”

emerita. No italics. Feminine form of emeritus. (Mary Smith, professor of biology emerita).

emeritus. No italics. Used for masculine and gender-neutral references and is not preceded by a comma. The plural form is emeriti. (He met with Joe Smith, professor of music emeritus. We invited anyone who is an emeritus professor. A reception was held for trustees emeriti.). For more information, see ACADEMIC AND ADMINISTRATIVE TITLES under titles (of persons).

endemic, epidemic, pandemic. Endemic as an adjective refers to the constant presence of a disease (e.g., malaria is endemic in some regions). An epidemic is the rapid spreading of disease in a certain population or region. A pandemic is an epidemic that has spread wider, usually to multiple countries or continents, affecting a large number of people. Do not write global pandemic; this is redundant. At the time of this publication, COVID-19 is still considered a pandemic, but follow public health officials’ guidance in terminology.

endowed chairs and professorships. See ACADEMIC AND ADMINISTRATIVE TITLES under titles (of persons).

ensure. See assure, ensure, insure. These words are not interchangeable.

entitled. Primary definition is “deserving”; titled is preferred to mean “bearing the title” (The book was titled The Art of Racing in the Rain. Jim is entitled to a share of the profits because he helped to develop the product.).

epigraphs. Quotations used as ornaments preceding a text rather than as illustration or documentation are not set in quotation marks; rather, they receive distinctive typographic treatment.

et al. The abbreviation of et alia. Note punctuation in example (He joined the firm of Debevoise Plimpton et al. in June.).

etc. Should be avoided. The statement “The shopping list included fruit, cereal, and milk” leaves the impression that there were other items. If etc. is used, it should be preceded and followed by commas. (Towels, bedding, etc., are not provided.)

ethnic and racial designations. Capitalize Black and lowercase white in this context. Identifiers such as African American, Italian American, Latin American, and Japanese American are not hyphenated. It is important to note that different designations are acceptable to different groups when they are referring to themselves.

References to race and ethnicity should be avoided if they are not germane to the story or text.

ex officio. Means “by virtue or because of an office.” Do not hyphenate or italicize. Used as an adjective or adverb (She serves ex officio as a member of the Alumni Council. He is an ex officio member of the committee.).

extended study. Lowercase. Off-campus trips taken as part of an academic course after the regular term is over (I went on the South Africa extended study trip.).

Facilities Department (formerly known as buildings and grounds)

faculty, staff. Both words are collective nouns. They refer to groups of people, yet they take singular verbs. In addition, as collective nouns, in most cases both terms require “member” to accompany them (RIGHT: We have called upon faculty members to assist. WRONG: We have called upon faculty to assist. RIGHT: Members of the staff will meet on Tuesday. WRONG: Staff will meet on Wednesday.).

When referring to individuals, use professor or teacher in place of faculty whenever possible. For capitalization instructions, see ACADEMIC AND ADMINISTRATIVE TITLES under titles (of persons).

Family weekend. Lowercase in generic references. Capitalize when referring to the annual Colgate event and the year is included. (Please join us at Family Weekend 2019. This year’s family weekend will include many events.).

farther, further. Farther is a distance word; further is a time or quantity word (One travels farther but pursues a task further.).

fellow, fellowship. Lowercase when used alone but capitalize when in combination with a name of a granting organization (an NEH Fellow, a Guggenheim Fellowship; but he was a fellow at Yaddo in 1989).

fieldwork

first-come, first-served

firsthand

first year, first-year student, freshman. first year, first-year student, freshman. Rather than “freshman,” the preferred term is first-year student (or “first-year,” colloquially). There is no hyphen when referring to time frame (I took calculus in my first year.).

first-year seminar. Lowercase. Often referred to as an FSEM.

fiscal year. Capitalize before a specific year, and lowercase when alone or after a specific year. (Alumni giving doubled in Fiscal Year 2012; our 2013 fiscal year goals will be significantly higher. Colgate’s fiscal year runs from July 1 through June 30.).

Founders’ Day

freshman, freshmen. Use first-year student or first-year students instead.

Fulbright. Uppercase as shown: Fulbright Scholar Award(s), Fulbright Scholar Program, Fulbright Scholar(s), Fulbright Distinguished Fellow(s). Lowercase the following as shown: Fulbright grant, Fulbright fellowship(s), Fulbright award(s).

fundraiser, fundraising

’gate. As an abbreviation for Colgate, lowercase in body copy; ensure that the apostrophe is facing away from the word. Avoid this colloquialism unless your communiqué is particularly informal.

’Gate Card. Colgate’s official ID.

gender neutrality. Avoid gender-specific terms and titles such as policeman, chairman, foreman, mankind; use instead police officer, chair, supervisor, humanity. Use the same standards for men and women when deciding whether to include specific mention of personal appearance or marital and family situation: e.g., if you refer to a female lawyer as a blonde, also identify the male lawyer’s hair color. Avoid superfluous gender references (He is a nurse, not he is a male nurse).

genus and species. Capitalize Latin generic plant and animal names and lowercase species names; italicize both. On second reference the genus may be abbreviated (Esox lucius, E. lucius).

global leaders lecture series. The official name is Kerschner Family Series Global Leaders at Colgate. Launched by Colgate’s Society of Families, this series allows the University to invite high-profile guests to campus.

Go, ’gate! Note comma and proper apostrophe.

grades, grade point average. The abbreviation for grade point average (spell out on first reference) is GPA; use GPA figures to at least one decimal point: 3.0, 2.75. No punctuation with letter grades (He received an A and three Bs).

graduated. Use with from (RIGHT: He graduated from Colgate. WRONG: She graduated college.).

Hall of Honor. Official name is Colgate Athletics Hall of Honor.

Hamilton Initiative, LLC

hand-washing

health care (two words)

healthy-living housing. Students who live in healthy-living housing choose not to allow the use of alcohol, tobacco, or other drugs to affect the community in which they live. The term healthy living is preferred over substance free.

hearing impaired. Use deaf or hard of hearing.

High Distinction. A special academic designation earned through elective courses in Colgate’s Liberal Arts Core Curriculum.

Hill, the. When referring to the hill upon which Colgate stands, it is permissible to capitalize.

Hispanic. A person who is from, or whose ancestors were from, a Spanish-speaking land or culture. Latino, Latina, or Latinx are sometimes preferred (see that entry). Follow a person’s preference.

historical periods. Most period designations are lowercase except for proper nouns and adjectives (classical period, baroque period, medieval literature, Victorian era, Romanesque period).

Capitalize names of widely recognized epochs in anthropology, archaeology, geology, and history (the Bronze Age, the Dark Ages, the Middle Ages, the Renaissance, the Enlightenment).

holidays and holy days. Capitalize them: New Year’s Eve, New Year’s Day, Groundhog Day, Easter, Hanukkah, etc. The federal legal holidays are New Year’s, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Washington’s Birthday, Memorial Day, Juneteenth, Independence Day, Labor Day, Columbus Day, Veterans Day, Thanksgiving, and Christmas.

Homecoming. Capitalize to denote the annual Colgate event when the year is included, but lowercase when used generically (He attended the football game during Homecoming 2019. During the fall, homecoming events are common at universities and colleges.).

honors. Lowercase (She graduated summa cum laude with honors in English.).

hyphens. See punctuation section.

ID (No periods necessary.)

i.e. Means “that is” or “namely”; not to be confused with e.g. (which means “for example”). Usually followed by a comma and best confined to lists, parenthetical matter, and bullets.

Indigenous. Capitalize this term used to refer to original inhabitants of a place.

italics. Italicize non-English words as well as the names of books, journals, magazines, newspapers, plays, movies, and works of art (see titles [of original works or similar] for more). Italicize the names of ships but not the abbreviations preceding such names: USS Midway. For proper use of punctuation in italics, see special formatting in punctuation section.

Jr. No comma before Jr. (George Smith Jr.).

Kerschner Family Series Global Leaders at Colgate. Launched by Colgate’s Society of Families, this series allows the University to invite high-profile guests to campus.

Konosioni. Formerly the name of Colgate’s senior honor society, which is now called Tredecim Senior Honor Society.

Lampert Institute for Civic and Global Affairs. Encouraging interdisciplinary study and debate on civic affairs and public leadership.

Latino, Latina. Latino is often the preferred noun or adjective for a person from, or whose ancestors were from, a Spanish-speaking land or culture or from Latin America. Latina is the feminine form. Some prefer the recently coined gender-neutral term Latinx, which should be confined to quotations, names of organizations, or descriptions of individuals who request it and should be accompanied by a short explanation. See also Hispanic, and follow a person’s preference.

lay, lie. Lie means “to recline or rest”; lay means “to put down or arrange.” Use lie if the subject of a sentence is doing the action; use lay when referring to the object of a sentence. These verbs are not interchangeable. (When I got tired, I decided to lie down on the couch. She asked me to lay the papers on the desk. He laid the baby in the cradle.)

lecturer. The title lecturer should be treated as an occupational title rather than a formal title and thus should always be lowercase, even before a name.

lectures, lectureships. A lecture can be held, presented, or given. Lectureships are often endowed or underwritten, and when they have a formal name, they are capitalized (Reverend Eugene F. Rivers III was the speaker for the third annual W.E.B. and Shirley Graham DuBois Lecture Series in 2000.). For proper capitalization, see titles (of original works or similar).

LGBTQ. Refers to persons who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or questioning.

Liberal Arts Core Curriculum. The formal title of Colgate’s general education program. Also referred to as the core.

lists. Capitalize only the first letter of the first word of each new line, all other words (except for proper nouns) should be lowercase. In specific instances, the communications office publication designers might employ all capital letters or initial caps for typographical reasons at their discretion. Lists that are composed of sentences or sentence fragments should be punctuated consistently.

Example:

Colgate offers five interdisciplinary environmental studies majors:

Environmental biology
Environmental economics
Environmental geography
Environmental geology
Environmental studies

Lower Campus, the; Middle Campus, the. Note: Capitalize the definite article only when it appears at the beginning of a sentence.

magazine names. See titles (of original works or similar).

magna cum laude. Italicized but lowercased (He graduated magna cum laude in 1965.).

maiden names. See names.

major. Lowercase, except for proper nouns (Colgate offers a diverse range of majors. He is an English major.). In specific instances, the communications office publication designers might employ all capital letters or initial caps for typographical reasons at their discretion.

For a complete list of majors, see Colgate.edu/majors.

master of arts degree, master’s degree. See academic degrees.

matriculate. Use with “at.” (RIGHT: He matriculated at Colgate. WRONG: He matriculated Davidson.)

medieval. See historical periods.

Middle Campus Initiative for Arts, Creativity, and Innovation, the. Note: Capitalize the definite article only when it appears at the beginning of a sentence.

Middle Campus, the; Lower Campus, the. Note: Capitalize the definite article only when it appears at the beginning of a sentence.

midnight. Preferable to 12 a.m. Also, never use the two in combination (The candlelight vigil will begin at midnight [not at 12 midnight].).

midterm recess, midterm exams

Mind, Brain, and Behavior Initiative. The full name — Robert Hung Ngai Ho Mind, Brain, and Behavior Initiative — should be used on first reference. The acronym MBBI can be put in parentheses with the first mention and used subsequently.

minor. Lowercase minors (except for proper nouns), unless initial caps are used for design/typographical convention in list form (Bill has a minor in creative writing, Jen’s is African American studies, and Joan’s is medieval and Renaissance studies.). For more information, see Colgate.edu/majors.

months. When used with a specific date, abbreviate only Jan., Feb., Aug., Sept., Oct., Nov., and Dec. (His lecture took place on Feb. 15, 2013. Tony was born on April 15, 1943.). Spell out when using alone or with a year alone; no comma between month and year when no specific date appears (They decided that January was a bad time for a wedding in Alaska. He arrived in September 2004.).

more than, over. These are not interchangeable expressions. More than expresses quantity (e.g., more than 10 students); over is an adverb expressing direction (He threw the ball over the wall.).

musical ensembles at Colgate

Directed by faculty, optional course credit
Colgate Chamber Players
Colgate Chamber Singers
Colgate Concert Choir
Colgate University Concert Jazz Ensemble
Colgate University Orchestra

Directed by students, extracurricular

Colgate Resolutions
Colgate Thirteen
The Dischords
Raider Pep Band
Sojourners Gospel Choir
Swinging ’Gates

names. In general, follow the Associated Press Stylebook guidelines unless otherwise indicated.

ALUMNI NAMES. Always list the year of graduation with alumni names (John Jones ’89). See also MAIDEN NAMES in this entry.

DIVISIONS, DEPARTMENTS, OFFICES, AND PROGRAMS. Uppercase when using the formal name (the Division of Natural Sciences and Mathematics). Lowercase informal names (natural sciences division).

FACULTY NAMES: Use Professor, not Doctor, when preceding a faculty member’s name. Dr. is meant only for individuals who hold a medical degree; drop Dr. after the first reference. Also, drop Dr. if the degree is used (Dr. John Smith; John Smith, MD).

INDIVIDUALS. Use the last name only without a modifier on second reference (Provost and Dean of the Faculty Jane Smith announced a new plan on Tuesday. The plan, Smith says, would be implemented in June.). Look up names (and professional titles) of faculty and staff members at colgate.edu/directory; however, academic or professional titles should always be verified with the person or department.

INITIALS. No space between two initials (H.L. Mencken).

JR., II, ETC. Not preceded or followed by a comma (John Jones Jr.; Eric Brown II).

MAIDEN NAMES. Use of maiden names to identify married women can take several different forms, depending upon individual preferences. For a Colgate alumna who has taken her husband’s name, insert the name under which she was known as a student in parentheses: known as Colleen Jones as a student, and now married, refer to her as Colleen (Jones) ’92 Batcher.

A married woman who retains her maiden name should always be identified as such: Kyra Sedgwick (whose husband is Kevin Bacon) is not referred to as Mrs. Kyra Bacon or Mrs. Kevin Bacon.

NICKNAMES. Should be contained within quotation marks (Joe “Bubba” Smith). A nickname should only be used in place of a person’s name when it is the way the individual prefers to be known (Jimmy Carter).

STATE NAMES. The names of states, territories, and possessions of the United States should always be given in full when standing alone or on first reference. With city-state constructions, use standard abbreviations as in states.

Native American. No hyphen. American Indian is also acceptable; however, some use the terms interchangeably, while others prefer one over the other. In many cases, the tribal affiliation is the most appropriate term. See also Indigenous.

neither. Takes a singular verb (Neither Jack nor Erin was asked to participate. Neither of them wants to go anyway.). Must be accompanied by nor, except when beginning a sentence that follows either an express negative or an idea that is negative in sense (Neither was the group interested in creating new fundraising ideas.). When used with nor, both neither and nor must be placed immediately before and after the noun or verb to which they refer (RIGHT: She told me that they gave neither money nor flowers. WRONG: She told me that they neither gave money nor flowers.).

New York Six Liberal Arts Consortium, the (on second reference, can be shortened to New York Six). This is a collaboration among six institutions (Colgate University, Hamilton College, Hobart and William Smith Colleges, Skidmore College, St. Lawrence University, and Union College) to share expertise and resources.

Newman Community

newspaper names. See books and periodicals under titles (of original works or similar).

non. In general, no hyphen when used as a prefix (nonfiction, nonprofit).

none. When used to convey no one, or no amount, none takes a singular verb (None of us is perfect.).

When indicating no individuals, it takes the plural verb (None of the eligible voters are present.).

When the meaning is not one, it is better to use not one than none with a singular verb (Not one of the students has passed.).

noon. Preferable to 12 p.m. Also, never use the two in combination (RIGHT: The event begins at noon. WRONG: The event begins at 12 noon.).

not only. Should be followed by but also (He is not only bright but also funny.).

numerals. WHOLE NUMBERS one through nine should be spelled out; higher numbers are expressed in figures.

Spell out a numeral if it begins a sentence (Seven hundred students entered the first-year class last fall.).

AGES. Always use numerals (He has a 4-year-old. Pete turned 8 on Wednesday.).

CENTURIES AND DECADES. Use numerals. Hyphenate century only when used as a modifier (We’ve landed in the 21st century. He’s still using 20th-century technology.).

FRACTIONS in body copy should be spelled out and hyphenated: two one-hundredths. When a fraction appears with a full number, it should be expressed in figures (5 1/2 or 3.5).

MEASUREMENTS AND QUANTITIES. Always use numerals (e.g., 6 inches, 2 liters).

MONEY. Use figures in references to money. See also dollars.

ORDINALS. The general rule of using words versus figures applies to ordinals (He found himself in second place at midseason. Colgate ranks 15th on the U.S. News & World Report list of liberal arts colleges.). Do not use ordinals for a date when the month is included, whether in text or as a fragment on an ad, poster, or invitation (RIGHT: I’ll see you on the 9th. The meeting is on Sept. 9. Lecture Dec. 12. WRONG: The concert will be on January 10th. Concert January 10th, 2013.). Avoid using superscript, especially in prose, which often interferes with line spacing in paragraphs.

PERCENT, PERCENTAGE. Percentages are always given in numerals, except when beginning a sentence. Use the sign (%) when paired with a numeral; otherwise, spell out “percent” and “percentage(s)” in text. Note also that no space appears between the numeral and the symbol %.

PHONE NUMBERS. Use hyphens, not periods or parentheses: e.g., 315-228-1000.

off campus, off-campus. Hyphenate when used as a modifier (She did her grocery shopping off campus. She visited the off-campus grocery store.).

offline, online

orchestra. Refer to the campus ensemble as the Colgate University Orchestra on first reference and the University orchestra or the orchestra on second reference.

Outdoor Education Program. Uppercase when using the official name; lowercase in general references (He participates in outdoor education activities. She is former director of the Outdoor Education Program.).

over. See more than, over.

paintings and sculpture. See ARTWORKS under titles (of original works or similar).

pandemic. A pandemic is an epidemic that has spread wider, usually to multiple countries or continents, affecting a large number of people. Do not write global pandemic; the adjective is redundant. See also COVID-19 and endemic, epidemic, pandemic.

panel discussions. See LECTURE AND PANEL DISCUSSION TITLES under titles (of original works or similar).

Parents’ and Grandparents’ Fund

passive voice. Whenever possible, use the active voice rather than the passive (PREFERRED: The faculty rejected the committee’s proposals. LESS FAVORABLE: The proposals made by the committee were rejected by the faculty.).

periods of history. See historical periods.

personal pronouns. Always ask people what their pronouns are and use them accordingly. If the use of a plural pronoun (they, them) for a singular person causes confusion in the sentence, use the subject’s last name on second and subsequent references.

phone numbers. Use hyphens, not periods or parentheses: e.g., 315-228-1000. In text, do not include the numeral 1 before area codes. (An exception is international student–facing materials, which often include the country code and the numeral 1 [e.g., 011-1-315-228-1000].)

photo credits. See credits (photo).

Picker Interdisciplinary Science Institute. Named for Harvey Picker ’36.

plays and poems. See titles (of original works or similar).

p.m. Not PM or pm. For more about time style, see time.

possessives. See plurals and possessives under apostrophe in the punctuation section.

president. Capitalize only as a formal title before one or more names (President Bill Clinton, Presidents Clinton and Bush). Lowercase in all other uses (Writer Austin Murphy ’83 rode mountain bikes with the U.S. president at his Crawford, Texas, ranch in 2005.). If the word “then” is used, hyphenate (then-President Barack Obama), but “former” is not hyphenated (former President Barack Obama).

Presidents’ Circle

professor. Use the full formal title (Associate Professor of Anthropology Kristin De Lucia) on first reference when the subject of the text focuses on the person’s position; lowercase when using an occupational reference (anthropology professor Kristin De Lucia). Capitalize when used as a courtesy title (We met Professor Kristin De Lucia of the anthropology department today.). For more information, see ACADEMIC AND ADMINISTRATIVE TITLES under titles (of persons).

publications. See titles (of original works or similar) for guidelines on text formatting for publication names.

quad, quadrangle. Both are acceptable references. Always lowercase these landmarks on campus, even in longer forms, e.g., academic quad.

quotations and quotation marks. See punctuation section.

RA, residential adviser. At Colgate, this position is called a community leader (CL).

racial and ethnic designations. Capitalize Black and lowercase white in this context. Identifiers such as African American, Italian American, Latin American, and Japanese American are not hyphenated. It is important to note that different designations are acceptable to different groups when they are referring to themselves. References to race and ethnicity should be avoided if they are not germane to the story or text.

Raider, Raiders. Colgate’s mascot is the Raider . Athletes who identify as female are not Lady Raiders.

Renaissance. See historical periods.

residence hall. Preferable to dormitory or dorm. For names, see buildings and sites.

Residential Commons. The formal name for Colgate’s living-learning program. Capitalize Residential Commons; do not capitalize the informal name, the commons.

résumé. Requires both accents or none at all.

Reunion. Capitalize when referring to the annual Colgate event and the year is included. Lowercase in generic references (They joined us at Reunion 2019. Jim and Kerry came to their 25th Reunion. They gathered at reunion under the tents.).

Robert Hung Ngai Ho Mind, Brain, and Behavior Initiative. The full name should be used on first reference. The acronym MBBI can be put in parentheses with the first mention and used subsequently.

Romance. Capitalize when referring to the group of languages developed from Latin (as French, Italian, or Spanish).

said, says. Past tense (said) is used in citing a quotation uttered by an individual at a specific time or in the past (“I always wanted to study ancient Egyptian art,” Jim Rogers said during his Oct. 13 speech.). Present tense (says) is used in all other instances in order to provide an in-the-moment feeling (“This is the best ice cream we’ve ever made,” says Ben Cohen.). Also use present tense in paraphrasing a line of thought that an individual continuously expresses (Smith says that Egyptian art is his favorite area of study.).

Salmagundi. Colgate’s yearbook.

scholar-athlete, student-athlete

scholarship. Lowercase except when used as part of a proper name (He won a scholarship last year. He received a Chenango Valley Scholarship.).

seasons. Lowercase, even when referring to the issue of a publication (the spring 2004 issue of the magazine).

semesters. Lowercase (e.g., the fall semester).

senior class gift (lowercase)

serial comma. See punctuation section.

series. Titles of concert, lecture, or literary series should be set in roman (plain) type without quotation marks (The Art Lecture Series was founded many years ago.).

sic. Italicize. Means “so,” “thus,” or “in this manner.” Use within brackets, in italics, after a word or passage is misspelled or wrongly used in the original, to indicate that it is intended exactly as printed. It is a complete word and needs no period (He told me, “I aint [sic] going to follow you.”).

side by side. Hyphenate only when used as a modifying phrase (Students work side by side with professors. They went on a side-by-side slalom track.).

Society of Families

SophoMORE Connections

split infinitives. Though not a true error, it was formerly regarded as one and is still considered offensive to some; however, it is now widely acknowledged that adverbs sometimes justifiably separate the “to” from the principal verb. (RIGHT: Officials hope to more than triple the attendance rate at next year’s banquet. WRONG: It’s a good idea to correctly spell his name in the listing. RIGHT: It’s a good idea to spell his name correctly in the listing.).

sports. Lowercase the names of sports as well as teams, unless preceded by “Colgate University” (Colgate University Basketball had a successful season. Joe is captain of the hockey team. Jane is a swimmer. Bill plays lacrosse.).

spring break (lowercase)

Spring Party Weekend. Use SPW on second reference.

Sr. No comma before Sr. (Bill Jones Sr.).

staff. As a collective noun, this term refers to a group of people, yet it takes singular verbs. In addition, collective nouns such as staff (or faculty) in most cases require “member” to accompany them (RIGHT: We have called upon faculty members to assist. WRONG: We have called upon faculty to assist. RIGHT: Members of the staff will meet on Tuesday. WRONG: Staff will meet on Wednesday.). For more information, see faculty, staff.

state. Lowercase in all state of constructions and when used as an adjective to indicate jurisdiction (state Sen. Nancy Lorraine Hoffman, state budget, the state Department of Transportation). Uppercase New York State (…funding from New York State; the New York State legislature).

states. Spell out when they stand alone in textual material. Abbreviate (see below) when used in conjunction with name of a city, town, village, or military base, except for the eight never abbreviated in textual material: Alaska, Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, Maine, Ohio, Texas, and Utah. (He grew up in New Mexico. She is from East Irondequoit, N.Y.) Also abbreviate in short-form listings of party affiliation (D-Ala., R-Mont.).

Do not use postal code except on mailing addresses. Use state of Washington or Washington State to distinguish from the District of Columbia (likewise, state of New York or New York State to distinguish from New York City).

State	Postal Code	Abbreviation
Alabama	AL	Ala.
Alaska	AK	none
Arizona	AZ	Ariz.
Arkansas	AR	Ark.
California	CA	Calif.
Colorado	CO	Colo.
Connecticut	CT	Conn.
Delaware	DE	Del.
Florida	FL	Fla.
Georgia	GA	Ga.
Hawaii	HI	none
Idaho	ID	none
Illinois	IL	Ill.
Indiana	IN	Ind.
Iowa	IA	none
Kansas	KS	Kan.
Kentucky	KY	Ky.
Louisiana	LA	La.
Maine	ME	none
Maryland	MD	Md.
Massachusetts	MA	Mass.
Michigan	MI	Mich.
Minnesota	MN	Minn.
Mississippi	MS	Miss.
Missouri	MO	Mo.
Montana	MT	Mont.
Nebraska	NE	Neb.
Nevada	NV	Nev.
New Hampshire	NH	N.H.
New Jersey	NJ	N.J.
New Mexico	NM	N.M.
New York	NY	N.Y.
North Carolina	NC	N.C.
North Dakota	ND	N.D.
Ohio	OH	none
Oklahoma	OK	Okla.
Oregon	OR	Ore.
Pennsylvania	PA	Pa.
Rhode Island	RI	R.I.
South Carolina	SC	S.C.
South Dakota	SD	S.D.
Tennessee	TN	Tenn.
Texas	TX	none
Utah	UT	none
Vermont	VT	Vt.
Virginia	VA	Va.
Washington	WA	Wash.
West Virginia	WV	W. Va.
Wisconsin	WI	Wis.
Wyoming	WY	Wyo.

student-athlete, scholar-athlete

student-faculty ratio, student-to-faculty ratio. Use a colon (The addition of these professors would move the student-faculty ratio from 10:1 to 9:1.).

Student Government Association. Use SGA on second reference.

student organizations. Refer to getinvolved.colgate.edu for current listings, formal names, and proper spelling.

study groups. Capitalize specifically named groups as for course titles but lowercase generic references (He went on the London Art Study Group. I was a member of the Freiburg Study Group. He attended the first Washington, D.C., Study Group. I plan to find a study group in Europe.).

summa cum laude. Italicized but lowercased (She graduated summa cum laude in 1987.).

syllabus (plural: syllabi)

temperature. Do not use plus signs, minus signs, or the degree symbol when expressing temperatures in nontechnical copy. Use scale designations (Fahrenheit, Celsius) when necessary to avoid confusion. Fahrenheit, Celsius, and their abbreviations are capitalized; centigrade (used in place of Celsius) is not.

textbook

that, which. That is defining or restrictive; which is nondefining or nonrestrictive. Note that a comma precedes which, but not that. (The cup that is broken is in the sink [tells which one]. The cup, which is broken, is in the sink [states the condition of the only cup in question].).

the. Lowercase when used with organizations and with the name of newspapers and periodicals (Professor Jones was quoted in the New York Times.).

theater. Preferred usage. Use theatre only when it is part of a proper name.

therefore. As with other adverbs such as however, then, thus, hence, indeed, accordingly, and besides, a semicolon (not a comma) is needed when used transitionally between independent clauses (I’m feeling unwell; therefore, I will stay home today.).

Third-Century Plan (note hyphenation and italics)

Third Century is the brand

Hyphenate when it modifies: e.g., Third-Century ambitions, Third-Century updates

Third-Century Plan (if "the" appears beforehand, do not capitalize or italicize "the")

Add bold when referring to the campaign: the Campaign for the Third Century

time. In body copy, use figures except for noon and midnight, but spell out whenever o’clock is used (The meeting ended at 4:15 p.m. I woke up at three o’clock in the morning. We will resume at 10:30.).

Use noon and midnight rather than 12 p.m. or 12 a.m.

The abbreviations a.m. and p.m. are preferable, but if small capitals are used for typographic reasons, eliminate the periods (Her flight left at 9:32 a.m. and landed at 10 a.m. Join us at 8 PM).

titled. Not entitled when meaning “bearing the title of” (He recently published a book titled The Professor’s Son.). See also entitled.

titles (of original works and similar)

ARTWORKS. Italicize titles of paintings, drawings, statues, and other works of art (Judith with the Head of Holofernes).

BOOKS AND PERIODICALS. In publications, italicize titles and subtitles of books, pamphlets, magazines, newsletters, newspapers, and sections of newspapers published separately (Mel Watkins’ Stepin Fetchit: The Life and Times of Lincoln Perry, the New York Times Book Review). If the word “magazine” is not part of the official title of the publication, it should remain lowercase and in roman type (Vogue magazine but Harper’s Magazine). In text, lowercase “the” in a newspaper’s name even if it is part of the official title (His article appeared in the New York Times.). Online publications are simply capitalized and in Roman type (e.g., Huffington Post).

COMPUTER SOFTWARE. Capitalize and set software titles in roman type (Microsoft Word, Adobe PageMaker, Banner). Italicize titles of computer games (He played Donkey Kong until Moon Patrol caught his eye.).

DANCE. Treat titles of ballets and other dance compositions according to the plays and poems guidelines (Tchaikovsky’s ballet Swan Lake was performed at SPAC in August. The Dance Theater program will offer six dances, including “Three Friends,” which was set to a pop tune and choreographed by Joan Greene.).

EXHIBITIONS. Capitalize and set in roman type, without quotation marks (The exhibition Burma: Faces in a Time of War will be on view in the gallery.).

LECTURE AND PANEL DISCUSSION TITLES. Set in roman type with initial caps on all major words, within quotation marks (He delivered a lecture titled “War, Ecology, and Environmental Pacifism” in April.).

MOVIES. Italicize (Citizen Kane).

MUSICAL COMPOSITIONS. Titles of long musical compositions such as operas, oratorios, motets, and tone poems, as well as album titles, are italicized (Rossini’s The Barber of Seville, Handel’s Messiah, James Taylor’s October Road]. Titles of shorter compositions and songs are set in quotation marks (“The Star-Spangled Banner”). Works that are identified by the name of the musical form (symphony, concerto, sonata, etc.) plus a number or key or both should be set in roman type without quotation marks (The Brahms Sonata for violin and piano in A major, Op. 100). Descriptive titles are italicized, but the identifying form is not (William Tell Overture).

PLAYS AND POEMS. Titles of plays, long poems, and poetry collections are italicized, and titles of short poems are set in roman type within quotation marks (We read Beowulf in English 200. Keats, “Ode on a Grecian Urn”).

PODCASTS. . Italicize titles of the podcasts (e.g., This American Life) and put quotation marks around episodes.

SHORTER PUBLISHED WORKS. Set book chapters and titles of articles, short stories, or essays in roman type within quotation marks (One of my favorites from Stephen King’s Skeleton Crew short story collection is “The Mist.”).

TELEVISION PROGRAMS. Italicize program names and put episode titles in quotation marks (We watched Game of Thrones. “The Rains of Castamere” is a classic episode.).

UNIVERSITY PUBLICATIONS. As with books and periodicals, italicize the formal names of larger University publications like the Colgate University Student Handbook, but online publications like the Colgate University Catalog are not italicized. Also, informal references to publications (e.g., the student handbook) are not italicized.

UNPUBLISHED WORKS. Titles of dissertations, theses, manuscripts in collections, lectures, and papers read at seminars should be set in roman type within quotation marks.

WEBSITES. If titled, websites should be set in roman type without quotation marks (I went to google.com. I checked Yahoo!, but didn’t find what I was looking for.).

titles (of persons). In general, capitalize formal or courtesy titles (president, professor, senator) before names of individuals and lowercase them when they appear after names of individuals. Lowercase descriptive or occupational titles (teacher, attorney, coach) in all cases.

ACADEMIC AND ADMINISTRATIVE TITLES. Look up names and professional titles of individual faculty and staff members at colgate.edu/directory; however, academic or professional titles should be verified with the department.

Use the full formal title (Associate Professor of Anthropology John Smith on first reference when the subject of the text focuses on the person’s position; however, most often, using an occupational reference is preferable [anthropology professor John Smith]).

Capitalize titles when they precede names (President Lincoln, Professor Smith, Provost and Dean of the Faculty Jones, Head Coach John Smith.

Lowercase titles when used as occupational identifiers or when titles follow names (Jane Jones, associate professor of sociology and women’s studies; physics professor John Smith.

For named professorships, when listed after the name, capitalize proper nouns and professor but not the discipline or other identifier (Fred Chernoff, Harvey Picker Professor of international relations; Joe Smith, 2021–22 Christian A. Johnson Endeavor Foundation artist-in-residence).

Note the distinction between the formal name of an endowed chair and the appropriate title for the person holding it: chair in, but professor of (She was awarded the William Henry Crawshaw Chair in literature. Margaret Maurer, William Henry Crawshaw Professor of literature.).

OCCUPATIONAL TITLES. Titles such as lecturer or adjunct faculty member should be treated as an occupational title rather than a formal title and thus should always be lowercase, even before a name.

Torchlight Procession

toward (not towards)

trademarks. Trademarks are proper nouns and should be capitalized. They should not be used in the possessive form and are never verbs. Examples of registered trademarks include Frisbee, Jeep, Kleenex, Velcro, and Xerox.

Tredecim Senior Honor Society. The student honor society formerly called Konosioni.

trustee. Lowercase unless in front of the name of a standing trustee (He is a trustee. I met with Trustee Bill Smith.).

United States, U.S. Use periods in the abbreviation unless it is in a headline. The abbreviation is acceptable as both a noun or adjective.

University. Capitalize “University” when referring to Colgate, except when used as an adjective (university-level). Examples: The University welcomed 2,400 students as part of the incoming class. The policy will be implemented universitywide.

University Church

universitywide

upstate. Lowercase (He moved to upstate New York in the mid-1950s.).

Upstate Institute at Colgate University (Upstate Institute is usually sufficient.)

utilize. The word use is preferred.

very. An overused and ineffective word; to be avoided (RIGHT: He was famished. WRONG: He was very hungry.).

village. Always lowercase: village of Hamilton, the village. Similarly, lowercase town: town of Hamilton.

wait list (noun; two words), wait-listed (verb; hyphenated)

website. See computer terms.

weight. Use numerals and the abbreviations lbs. and oz. to designate a baby’s weight (Joan was 8 lbs., 5 oz. at birth.).

western. Lowercase when referring to a region. Capitalize in reference to culture and customs (He grew up in western New York. The class studied Western artists.).

which. See that, which.

white. Lowercase, even when referring to a person's skin color.

who, whom. Who is used as a grammatical subject, where a nominative pronoun such as I or he would be appropriate. Whom is used where an objective (object of) pronoun such as him or her would be appropriate (To whom did you send the package? The woman whom Joe told us about passed away last week.).

workforce, workplace

work-study. Always hyphenated.

World War II (note Roman numerals, not Arabic numbers)

Writing and Speaking Center

Zoom

Editorial Style Guide