Bucknell Style Guide

The Bucknell Style Guide is the official reference document for anyone writing internal messages for the campus community or external communications on behalf of the University. Its basis is the Associated Press Stylebook, which is used by most U.S. newspapers and magazines. AP style emphasizes brevity and straightforwardness, which makes it appropriate for crafting communications to broad audiences.

In addition to noting areas where Bucknell's style differs from the AP, this guide aims to answer some of the most common questions about AP style, and to provide direction for writing about things specific to Bucknell. If you have questions not addressed in this style guide, consult the AP Stylebook.

If you have questions about the Bucknell Style Guide, please contact:

Matt Hughes, senior associate director of content strategy
mh055@bucknell.edu
570-577-2003

Abbreviations and Acronyms

Acronyms

In general, limit the use of acronyms as much as possible. Substitutes such as "the center" or "the program" can be used in place of an acronym on second reference.

When using acronyms or abbreviations, spell out the name to be abbreviated on first reference, followed by the acronym in parenthesis. On second and subsequent reference, use the acronym. Do not use periods when writing acronyms.

  • Example:The Kenneth Langone Athletics & Recreation Center (KLARC) houses the Krebs Family Fitness Center. Gerhard Fieldhouse, which is attached to the KLARC, contains an indoor running track, squash courts and a climbing wall.

If the acronym is not mentioned a second time in the story, then it is unnecessary to include; just spell out the full name on first reference.

Commonly understood acronyms, such as SAT, GPA or NBC (in a story about television networks) do not need to be written out on first reference.

Month abbreviations

Spell out months when used without a numerical date.

  • Example: Winter break runs from December to January.

When used with a day, abbreviate Jan., Feb., Aug., Sept., Oct., Nov. and Dec. Never abbreviate March, April, May, June or July (the months spelled with five or fewer letters). For more information, see the Numbers, Dates and Time section.

  • Examples: His birthday is Nov. 29.
  • Commencement will take place on May 21.

State name abbreviations

State names should be abbreviated only when used with city names, and surrounded by commas. The abbreviation Washington, D.C., should be treated the same as a state abbreviation.

  • Examples: Princeton, N.J.
  • The bucolic town of Lewisburg, Pa., is home to Bucknell University.
  • She was born in Massachusetts.
  • The White House is located in Washington, D.C., at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.

For mailing addresses, use the standard address format and state abbreviations (PA, NJ, MA. etc.).

Other than in mailing addresses, abbreviations should follow AP style. Eight states are never abbreviated under AP style: Alaska, Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, Maine, Ohio, Texas and Utah. The AP state abbreviations for the others are as follows (postal abbreviations are in parentheses).

Ala. (AL)Md. (MD)N.D. (ND)
Ariz. (AZ)Mass. (MA)Okla. (OK)
Ark. (AR)Mich. (MI)Ore. (OR)
Calif. (CA)Minn. (MN)Pa. (PA)
Colo. (CO)Miss. (MS)R.I. (RI)
Conn. (CT)Mo. (MO)S.C. (SC)
Del. (DE) Mont. (MT)S.D. (SD)
Fla. (FL)Neb. (NE)Tenn. (TN)
Ga. (GA)Nev. (NV)Vt. (VT)
Ill. (IL)N.H. (NH)Va. (VA)
Ind. (IN)N.J. (NJ)Wash. (WA)
Kan. (KS)N.M. (NM)W.Va. (WV)
Ky. (KY)N.Y. (NY) Wis. (WI)
La. (LA)N.C. (NC)Wyo. (WY)

Street name abbreviations

The abbreviations Ave., Blvd. and St. should only be used with a numbered address. Do not abbreviate road, drive, terrace or other such terms. Otherwise spell out.

  • Examples: Judd House is located at 79 University Ave.
  • Moore Avenue runs through the heart of Bucknell's campus.
  • His home address is 66 Lexington Terrace.

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Buildings and Campus Locations

Divisions, Departments, Centers and Institutes

Capitalize principal words in the official names of University administrative offices, divisions, initiatives, etc. For informal uses, such as president's office, do not capitalize.

  • Examples: Office of the Provost, provost's office, Institute for Leadership in Technology & Management, the institute.

When using acronyms, always spell out the full name of the office on first reference.

  • Example: The Bucknell Program for Undergraduate Research (PUR) provides awards to students to conduct research during the summer. PUR funding is available for students from a variety of majors.

The official names of University divisions, offices, centers, institutes and initiatives are listed below, followed by their appropriate acronym where applicable.

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Departments

Events

In general, capitalize the formal name of an event. Lowercase when referring to it in a general sense. For example: The Kalman Research Symposium took place in April. The symposium was a success.

Capitalize the words Reunion, Reunion Weekend and Homecoming & Family Weekend when referring to Bucknell's official events of those names. Lowercase other uses.

  • Examples: Come back to campus for Homecoming & Family Weekend, Nov. 3-5.
  • John Worthy '78 hosted a reunion gathering at his home for the Class of 1978.

Capitalize Baccalaureate when referring to the official service. Lowercase in other instances. Likewise, capitalize Commencement and when referring to Bucknell's official specific graduation ceremony. Lowercase other uses.

  • Examples: Bucknell's Baccalaureate Service will take place the the evening before Commencement.
  • Madeleine Albright delivered the Commencement address at Bucknell in 2019.
  • Susquehanna University's commencement took place the weekend before Bucknell's.
  • A farewell sermon is typically delivered at a baccalaureate ceremony.

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Inclusivity Guidelines

Always respect an individual's preferences regarding descriptions of gender, race, ethnic heritage, mobility and other such categories. Only use such descriptions when pertinent. For questions not addressed in this section, the Diversity Style Guide is a good resource.

Refer to subjects using the gendered pronouns (he, she, ze, etc.) of their preference. To eliminate confusion, avoid using they as the first-person singular pronoun unless requested by the subject.

The proper names of nationalities and peoples should be capitalized.

  • Example: Cherokee, Chinese, Jewish, Swede.

When referring to an American of a given heritage, do not use a hyphen.

  • Example: Indian American, Albanian American.

Avoid writing that implies ableism: the belief that typical abilities — those of people who aren't disabled — are superior.

Other guidance is as follows:

AAPI

An acronym that stands for Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. The full term Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPI) should be spelled out on first reference to avoid confusion.

African American

Use only when pertinent and follow the preference of the person or work being described.

  • Examples: African American studies, African Americans

APIDA

An acronym that stands for Asian Pacific Islander Desi American. The full term Asian Pacific Islander Desi American (APIDA) should be spelled out on first reference to avoid confusion.

Asian, Asian American

Use more specific terms, such as Chinese American or Thai, when possible. Descriptors such as American of Vietnamese descent are also acceptable. Avoid using Asian as shorthand for Asian American when possible. Follow the subject's preference.

Black

Capitalize Black when used to describe race. Use only when pertinent and follow the preference of the person or work being described.

  • Examples: A Black woman, the Black diaspora

BIPOC

An acronym that stands for Black, Indigenous and people of color. The full term Black, Indigenous and people of color (BIPOC) should be spelled out on first reference to avoid confusion. The acronym may be used alone on subsequent reference.

The term is meant to unite all people of color while acknowledging that Black and Indigenous people face different and often more severe forms of racial oppression and cultural erasure.

Cisgender

Describes people whose gender identity matches the one they were assigned at birth. Do not use terms like normal to describe people who are not transgender. Not synonymous with heterosexual, which refers to sexual orientation.

Desi

A person of Indian, Pakistani or Bangladeshi birth or descent who lives abroad. The term implies shared values or bonds.

Disabled, Handicapped

In general, do not describe a person as disabled unless it is clearly pertinent to the story. Avoid handicapped altogether. Follow the source's preference for how they want to be described, and use person-first language whenever possible. Avoid writing that implies ableism: the belief that typical abilities — those of people who aren't disabled — are superior.

Hispanic, Latino and Latina

Hispanic describes a person from, or whose ancestors were from, a Spanish-speaking land or culture. Latino and Latina refer to a person from, or whose ancestors were from, a Spanish-speaking land or culture, or from Latin America. Latino or Latina is often the preferred term. Use more specific terms when possible, such as Cuban or Puerto Rican. Follow the subject's preference.

Latinx may be used as a gender-neutral or nonbinary alternative to Latino or Latina in all cases, singular or plural.

Indigenous

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

LGBTQ

Acceptable abbreviation for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer. Bucknell's office is the Office of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans* and Queer Resources.

Minority

Not a synonym for a person of color. Refers to a group or groups differing especially in race, religion or ethnicity from the majority of a population. Do not use to refer to individuals. Women do not constitute a minority, although they may be linked with minorities in various civil-rights contexts. Person or people of color is often a better alternative.

  • Example: Bucknell has signed on to a national initiative to improve the representation of women and minorities pursuing STEM degrees.

Native American, American Indian

Both are acceptable. Follow the subject's preference. Use more specific terms, such as Navajo or Indigenous Alaskan, when possible.

Nonbinary

An umbrella term for people who experience their gender identity and/or gender expression as falling outside the binary of man and woman. Follow the source's preference when describing gender identity and expression.

Pronouns

Refer to subjects using the gendered pronouns (he, she, ze, etc.) of their preference. To eliminate confusion, avoid using they as the first-person singular pronoun unless requested by the subject.

Transgender, Trans

Describes people whose gender identity does not match the sex they were identified as having at birth. Identify people as transgender only if pertinent, and use the name by which they live publicly. Follow the source's preference for describing their gender identity. The shorthand trans is acceptable on second reference and in headlines. Do not use as a noun. Do not use transgendered or transexual.

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Names, Titles, Capitalization and Punctuation

This section describes University style for writing and capitalizing names and titles, and offers guidance about punctuation. For further information about capitalization, first consult the AP Stylebook and then a dictionary. For more details about punctuation, see the Punctuation section of the AP Stylebook.

Alumni Names and Class Years

When referring to a class as a whole, capitalize the name of the class, and write out the full graduation year.

  • Example: Class of 1967.

List graduation years after the names of alumni with an apostrophe and the last two digits of the graduation year, unless referring to alumni from 100 years ago or more, in which case spell out Class of 19XX or 18XX. Add M for alumni with master's degrees, P for parents of students or graduates, and G for grandparents of students or graduates.

  • Examples: John Smith '08
  • Jane Jones, Class of 1908
  • Jane Smith '10 is the daughter of Michael Smith P'10.
  • Abigail Johnson '18 is the granddaughter of Aaron Johnson '57, G'18
  • Tammy Allen P’03, P’07 has two daughters who attended Bucknell, Laura Allen ’03 and Stephanie Allen Davis ’07, and a son who did not attend Bucknell.

When together listing the names of married couples, use the following guidelines:

If both spouses are alumni, and one spouse has assumed the other's name, list the spouse whose name is used by both partners first, followed by class year. List the spouse who has adopted a new name second - including original name - followed by class year.

  • Example: Chris '99 and Pat Jones Littleton '98

If only the spouse who has adopted a new name is an alumna/us, use the same format, omitting the class year after the first spouse's name.

  • Example: Quinn and Tyler Davis Oakes '96

If only the spouse whose name was adopted is an alumna/us, list him or her second, followed by class year.

  • Example: Alex and Casey Evans '87

Avoid using middle names or initials unless it is preferred by the subject. Bucknell's president prefers John C. Bravman in formal listings.

Likewise, avoid junior, senior, II, III and other name suffixes unless preferred by the subject. Abbreviate as Jr. and Sr. and, along with other notations such as II, use only with full names. Do not precede with a comma.

  • Examples: John Smith Jr.; the William A. Graham IV Wrestling Center.

Titles and Capitalization

In general, avoid unnecessary capitalization.

Capitalize and spell out titles such as president, provost, dean, director, chair or professor when they precede a name. Lowercase otherwise.

  • Examples: President John Bravman; Robert Midkiff, interim provost of Bucknell University; Professor Miles Stevens, management; The president declared Friday a University holiday.

Refer to Bucknell faculty members as professor, not doctor. When relevant, the title Dr. should be used on first reference only before the names of individuals who hold medical degrees: doctors of dental surgery, medicine, osteopathy or podiatric medicine.

In general, list professors on first reference as follows: Professor Name (comma) academic department (comma). On subsequent reference use only last name. Do not use the abbreviation Prof., or refer to professors as doctor or Dr. Ranks such as assistant professor and associate professor should only be used when pertinent to the context.

  • Examples: Professor Charles Xavier, psychology, is on sabbatical. Professor Jeanne Stevens, computer & electrical engineering, teaches at Bucknell.

Do not use courtesy titles, such as Mr., Mrs., Ms. or Miss, except in direct quotations.

Use the appropriate religious titles when referring to members of the clergy. For Christian ministers and priests, the Rev. is the appropriate title. The Rev. Dr. should be used only if the individual has earned a doctoral degree. Rabbi is the appropriate title for Jewish rabbis.

Other capitalization guidelines are as follows:

Academic degrees: Lowercase when referring to degrees.

  • Examples: a master's, a history degree, bachelor of arts in history

Academic departments: Capitalize formal department names. Lowercase otherwise.

  • Examples: the Department of History, history department, the Department of English.

Classes, courses: Capitalize the titles of courses, but not the terms class, course, capstone or foundation seminar when used alone. Do not italicize or place in quotes.

  • Example: Applied Behavioral Psychology.

University: Capitalize University when using as a substitute for Bucknell University. Lowercase in the general sense.

  • Examples: The University was founded in 1846. She plans to attend a university in Pennsylvania.

Headlines

Capitalize the principal words in headlines, including prepositions and conjunctions of four or more letters, and all verbs. Also capitalize articles (the, a, an) or words of fewer than four letters if they appear at the beginning or end of a title. Capitalize any word appearing after a colon in a headline. Quotes in headlines should be denoted with single quotation marks. Bucknell without University is acceptable in headlines.

  • Examples: Freeman College of Management Awarded Accreditation
  • Weis Center's Spring Season: A Dozen Dynamic and Engaging Performance
  • Cirque du Soleil Creative Director to Speak, Answer Questions

Punctuation

General guidelines follow regarding the use of punctuation marks. For more details about punctuation, see the Punctuation section of the AP Stylebook.

Ampersand (&): Use the ampersand in names of centers, colleges, departments, institutes and programs in all references.

  • Examples: the College of Arts & Sciences, the Teaching & Learning Center

Commas in a series: Commas should not be used before the "and" in a series, except when excluding them could create confusion, such as after an item joined by an "and" or in longer constructions.

  • Examples: Simple series, no serial comma: The colors are red, white and blue. He ate ham, eggs and toast for breakfast.
  • Serial comma used to avoid double "and": Her majors are animal behavior, cell biology & biochemistry, and neuroscience.
  • Serial comma used in a longer construction: The group includes a professor of biology who writes poetry in his spare time, a New York City socialite who's started a new life as a chicken farmer in rural Ohio, and twin sisters who say they couldn't be more different.
  • Serial comma used to avoid ambiguity: Among those interviewed by Merle Haggard's biographer were the country singer's two ex-wives, Kris Kristofferson, and Robert Duvall.

Exclamation points: Avoid them except in direct quotations.

Periods: Should be followed by a single space, not double.

Possessives: In general, add 's to singular and plural nouns not ending in s. Add only an apostrophe to singular and plural nouns that end in an s.

  • Examples: the student's book, the team's mascot, Jess' paper, the professors' classes.

Quotations: Use quotation marks ("") around quoted material. Periods and commas always go inside the close-quote mark. Dashes, semicolons, question marks and exclamation points go inside only when they apply to the quoted matter. Use present-tense quote attribution (say/says). Use past-tense attribution (said) for event-based stories or when talking about the past.

  • Examples: "Bucknell is a great institution," John Smith says. "You are Bucknellians forevermore," the president said at last year's Commencement. Have you heard the expression, "It takes a village"?

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Numbers, Dates and Time

Numbers

Bucknell University's editorial style follows the style of the Associated Press in the presentation of numbers. This guide aims to simplify the AP's somewhat complex rules for using numbers in text by presenting the most common uses of numerals and time elements in one place. For more detailed guidance, see the AP Stylebook entries on numerals, cents, dollars, dates, months, time element and time of day.

In most uses, spell out whole numbers below 10; use figures for 10 and above. One common exception to this rule is when the number above 10 is the first word in the sentence. In this situation, spell out the word. (Refer to the AP Stylebook for other exceptions.)

  • Examples: There are 22 students in the class.
  • Twenty-two students enrolled in the course.
  • There is only one professor teaching the course this semester.

Use figures and words and decimals up to two decimal points for millions, billions and larger amounts. Spell out all numbers if they begin a sentence.

  • Examples: She has three notebooks, 15 textbooks and 3 million assignments.
  • The budget is $6.25 billion.
  • Nineteen people donated $1 million each.

Guidance for writing dates and times, and for other uses of figures, follows.

Time Elements

a.m., p.m.: Lowercase, with periods.

Annual: An event should not be described as annual until it has been held at least two consecutive years. First annual is impossible.

Date and time ranges: An en-dash may be used to separate date and time ranges. Do not place spaces around the en-dash.

  • Example: The concert is scheduled for Monday, 7–9 p.m. Reunion is May 27–30.

Ranges may also be written out using words "from" and "to/until," but do not mix these words with an en-dash. An en-dash means "from x until y."

  • Correct: The concert is scheduled for Monday, 7–9 p.m.
  • Correct: The concert will take place on Monday from 7 to 9 p.m.
  • Incorrect: The concert will take place on Monday from 7–9 p.m.

When listing time ranges, it is only necessary to repeat the "a.m./p.m." element if the event crosses the noon hour.

  • Correct: 7–9 p.m.
  • Correct: 10 a.m.–1 p.m.
  • Correct: 10 a.m.–noon
  • Incorrect: 7 p.m.–9 p.m.

Days, months, years: Always use Arabic figures for dates, without st, nd, rd or th.
Examples: Jan. 15, 2007; Aug. 11; September 1968.

Spell out months when used without a numerical date.

  • Example: Winter break runs from December to January.

When used with a day, abbreviate Jan., Feb., Aug., Sept., Oct., Nov. and Dec. Never abbreviate March, April, May, June or July (the months spelled with five or fewer letters).

  • Example: His birthday is Nov. 29. Commencement will take place on May 21.

Only include the year in a date if it is not the current year.

  • Example: Bucknell's charter was signed by the governor on Feb. 5, 1846. This year Commencement will take place on May 21.

Days of the week: Spell out; do not abbreviate. In news copy, use specific days with dates to avoid confusion.

  • Example: Classes begin Monday, Aug. 22.

Decades: Use Arabic figures, apostrophes to indicate missing numerals and an s to show plural.

  • Examples: 1980s, the '70s, the mid-1930s. (Note the direction of the apostrophe in abbreviations such as the '90s and '67.)

Seasons: Do not capitalize unless used in the official name of a program or event.

  • Examples: He studied psychology in fall 2017. She plans to graduate this spring. The Fall Festival will include several alumni activities.

Time of day: Use figures except for noon and midnight. Use a colon to separate hours from minutes if minutes are used.

  • Examples: 11 a.m., 1 p.m., 3:30 p.m.

Other Uses Of Numbers

Addresses and street names: Always use figures for an address number. Spell out and capitalize First through Ninth when used as a street name. Use figures for 10th and above.

  • Example: She lives at 19 Seventh Street. His apartment is on 15th Street.

GPA: Acceptable in all references to grade-point average. It should be represented with figures and no more than two decimal points.

  • Example: 3.65

Money: Use $ before Arabic figures for dollars, and the word cents after Arabic figures for amounts less than $1. Use decimals only for dollar amounts that include cents. For millions or more, use the first figure and up to two decimal points along with million, billion, etc.

  • Examples:55 cents, $1, $2.44, $3 million, $14.55 billion. However, spell out to avoid awkward constructions, particularly in quotes: "I gave him one dollar for each A on his report card," John Smith said.

Telephone numbers: Use figures and dashes, without parentheses for area codes. Always include the area code.

  • Example: 570-577-3698

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Publications

When writing the titles of publications, capitalize the principal words, including all verbs and prepositions and conjunctions of four or more letters. Also capitalize articles (a, an, the) or words of fewer than four letters if they appear at the beginning or end of a title. Quotes in headlines should be denoted with single quotation marks.

  • Examples:A Farewell to Arms
  • When We Were Young
  • The Return of the Jedi
  • The Buzz at Bucknell: 'Bee Dome' Arises on Campus

The University Editorial Style Guide differs from the AP in writing titles of composition. Bucknell places the titles of complete works in italics. These include:

  • Albums
  • Books
  • Computer and video games
  • Court cases
  • Dissertations
  • Exhibitions
  • Full-length plays
  • Magazines
  • Movies
  • Musical works such as operas and musicals
  • Newspapers*
  • Online news outlets (e.g., The Huffington Post, Politico, Salon)
  • Podcasts
  • Ships and airplane names (e.g. the Titanic, USS Enterprise)
  • Scientific names
  • Spacecrafts
  • Television and radio shows
  • Trains
  • Works of art
  • Works that include sections, such as anthologies or collections

*When writing the names of newspapers, capitalize and italicize The if it is part of the newspaper's name.

  • Examples: The New York Times
  • the St. Petersburg Times
  • The Washington Post
  • The Bucknellian

Sections of longer works and certain other titles should be placed in quotation marks, including:

  • Articles
  • Book chapters
  • Episodes of television shows and podcasts
  • Essays
  • Lectures
  • Presentations
  • Poems
  • Songs and musical compositions
  • Speeches
  • Work that is included in an anthology or collection

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University-specific Style

Guidance on additional style that is specific to Bucknell or differs from the Associated Press Stylebook may be found below. If an entry is not listed, refer to the AP Stylebook.

Academic degrees: Lowercase. Use an apostrophe in bachelor's degree, a master's, etc.

  • Examples: a history degree, bachelor of arts in history. Avoid abbreviations such as B.A., M.A. and Ph.D. Do not place degree abbreviations after names.

Academic departments: Capitalize formal department names. Lowercase otherwise.

  • Examples: Department of History, the history department, the Department of Physics & Astronomy.

a cappella: Two words, no italics.

Adviser: Not advisor.

Alma mater: Lowercase in all references, except when referring specifically to the official Bucknell University song. Bucknell's alma mater is titled "Dear Bucknell."

Alumnus, alumni, alumna, alumnae: Use alumnus (alumni in the plural) when referring to a man who has attended a school. Use alumna (alumnae in the plural) for similar references to a woman. Use alumni when referring to a group of men and women. Avoid using the shortened form alum in formal writing. Alum is acceptable in informal contexts such as social media.

Athletics: Not athletic, unless used as an adjective to describe someone or something.

  • Examples: Bucknell student-athletes excel in athletics and scholarship. He has an athletic build.

Awards: Capitalize all officially sanctioned awards, honors or decorations. General references such as the prize or award should not be capitalized.

  • Examples:Nobel Peace Prize, Stephen W. Taylor Medal, Medal of Honor, the award, the cup

Bison: Capitalize when referring to Bucknell's athletics team name. The mascot is Bucky. Avoid using Bison as a general (non-athletics) reference to students and alumni of Bucknell. Use Bucknellian instead.

Board of Trustees: Use full name, capitalized on first reference. Lowercase board, trustee and trustees when used alone on second reference.

Bucknellian, Bucknellians: Used to refer to alumni and students of Bucknell.

Bucknell University: The full name always should be used in first reference except in athletics communications, summary news paragraphs and headlines. Bucknell may be used in all second references. Capitalize University when it is used alone in reference to Bucknell University.

Bucky:The Bucknell University athletics mascot

Campuswide: One word, as are statewide, worldwide and similar constructions. But, University-wide and similar constructions in which the root word has more than two syllables require a hyphen.

Chair:Use instead of chairman, chairwoman or chairperson when referring to the academic position. Capitalize when used as a title before a name.

  • Example: James Baish, chair of the Department of Biomedical Engineering. Chair James Baish said the biomedical engineering department ...

Classes, courses: Capitalize the titles of courses, but not the terms class, course, capstone or foundation seminar when used alone. Do not italicize or place in quotes.

  • Example: Applied Behavioral Psychology.

Clubs, organizations and interest groups: Capitalize the formal name of a club, organization or interest group. Lowercase more general references.

  • Example: Bucknell Club of Northern New Jersey. She joined a regional club meeting. Bisonettes Dance Team. The dance team performed at halftime.

College: Capitalize only as part of a proper name.

  • Examples: Boston College.
  • Bucknell University has three colleges: the College of Arts & Sciences, the College of Engineering and the Kenneth W. Freeman College of Management.

Dean's list:Lowercase in all uses.

Doctorate, doctoral: Both are preferred over Ph.D.

  • Examples: He earned a doctorate. She is a doctoral student.

Dorms, dormitories: Use residence hall or residence halls instead.

Double major, double-major: Hyphenate this term when used as a noun, such as "She is a Spanish and biology double-major from Utah." Don't hyphenate when used as a verb, such as "She plans to double major in biology and Spanish." The same rules apply to triple major vs. triple-major.

Endowment: Capitalize only when used as part of a formal name of a specific fund.

  • Example: The William A. Graham IV Wrestling Endowment.

Email:no hyphen

Email addresses: All letters should be lowercased except in addresses that require capitals. Proper punctuation should be used if an address ends a sentence or is used in a series.

Emeritus: Denotes faculty members who have retired. Members of the Board of Trustees may receive emeritus status by vote of the board; it is not conferred automatically. The female form is emerita; the plural is emeriti. Capitalize and place behind the title when used before a name. Lowercase if title appears after the name.

  • Examples: Professor Emeritus John Smith, Trustee Emerita Lisa Jones.
  • John Smith, professor emeritus of history, Lisa Jones, trustee emerita.

Fellow, fellowship: Capitalize only when part of the formal name of an award or prize.

  • Example: Smithsonian Fellowship.

First-year student: Use instead of freshman. Avoid using first-year alone as a noun.

Fundraising, fundraiser: One word in all cases.

Graduation: Lowercase. Commencement is the formal ceremony.

Greek, Greeks: May be used to refer collectively to fraternities and sororities and their members.

Health care (n): Two words.

  • Example: She studies health care in the United States and Canada.
  • Health care reform.

Honorary degrees: All references to honorary degrees should specify that they are honorary. Otherwise follow style for academic degrees.

  • Example: Bucknell presented Shirley Ann Jackson with an honorary doctor of humane letters degree.

Internet: Lowercase.

Majors: Lowercase except proper nouns.

  • Example: Her majors are chemistry and French.

Pre-law, pre-med: Lowercase with a hyphen.

Professor: In general, list professors on first reference as follows: Professor Name(comma) academic department (comma). On subsequent reference use only last name. Do not use the abbreviation Prof., Dr. or Doctor. Ranks such as assistant professor and associate professor should only be used when pertinent to the context.

  • Examples: Professor Charles Xavier, psychology, is on sabbatical.
  • Professor Jeanne Stevens, computer & electrical engineering, teaches at Bucknell.

'ray Bucknell:Note the lower-case R, as this stands for hooray Bucknell.

residence hall(s): Use instead of dorm or dormitory.

ROTC: ROTC is acceptable in all references to Reserve Officers' Training Corps. Note service when applicable.

  • Example: Army ROTC

Scholar, scholarship: Capitalize only when part of the formal name of an award or prize.

  • Example: Fulbright Scholarship

Scholar-athlete: Student-athlete is Bucknell's preferred term, but other bodies such as the Patriot League sometimes use scholar-athlete.

Student-athlete: Use to refer to members of Bucknell's varsity athletics programs.

Theatre: Use this spelling except in proper names using the alternate spelling

Versus: Spell out except in court case titles. Use v. in the latter. Examples: I cannot pick one case versus the other. Brown v. Board was a monumental decision.

University: Capitalize when using as a substitute for Bucknell University. Lowercase in the general sense.

  • Examples: The University was founded in 1846.
  • She plans to attend a university in Pennsylvania.
  • Bucknell is among the best universities in the Northeast.

University-wide web addresses: The full address, minus the http://www, should be used. You may include the www in certain circumstances in which it is unclear that you are referring to a web address. All letters should be lowercase except when more than one word appears in the web address. Proper punctuation should be used if an address ends a sentence or is used in a series.

  • Examples: bucknell.edu/admissions and bucknell.edu/TuitionAndAid.

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Marketing & Communications

Hours

Monday - Friday: 08:30 a.m. - 04:30 p.m.
Saturday & Sunday: Closed