Editorial Style Guide

a or an before h

Use a before a pronounced h: a historian, a horse. Use an before an aspirated h: an hour, an honest person.

a.m., p.m.

abbreviations and acronyms

Use abbreviations and acronyms sparingly.

Some well-known acronyms and abbreviations may be used on first reference. For example, CEO, CFO, CIA, FBI, GPA, NATO, and SAT.

Others may be used on second and subsequent references. For example: Henry Schwalbenberg, PhD, is the director of the International Political Economy and Development (IPED) program at Fordham University. The IPED program …

In general, though, try to avoid using acronyms, particularly those that may be unfamiliar to readers, as they can quickly turn a piece of writing into alphabet soup.

Instead of using an acronym to refer to an organization, try to use phrases like the company, the firm, the center, the institute, etc., or a shortened version of the organization’s name.

United Nations and United States should be spelled out when used as nouns. When used as adjectives, abbreviate them as U.N. and U.S. (note the use of the periods). For example: U.N. peacekeeping efforts; the U.S. economy.

The following abbreviations and acronyms may be used—sparingly—to refer to the University’s schools and colleges. More commonly, there are used to identify alumni by the school or college they attended. (For guidance on how to refer to alumni, see the sections on Alumni and School Codes.)

Note: PAR is used to refer to parents of current or former Fordham students.

academic degrees and disciplines

Academic degrees should be written without periods. For example, BS, BFA, MS, MBA, JD, PhD, EdD, etc.

Use an apostrophe in bachelor’s degree and master’s degree. For example: He earned a master’s degree in philosophy at Fordham. But note the use of capitalization and no apostrophe in Bachelor of Arts, Master of Science, Doctor of Philosophy, etc.

Note also the correct use of the words doctorate and doctoral: She received master’s and doctoral degrees from Fordham University. She earned a doctorate in theology.

The academic discipline in which the degree was earned should be lowercase, even if it is the formal name of a program, with the exception of those disciplines that are proper nouns: bachelor’s degree in sociology, master’s degree in theology, bachelor’s degree in English, master’s degree in international political economy and development. This guideline also applies to majors and minors.

academic departments
(See Department Names.)

academic titles
(See Names.)

addresses

When providing a location for a University event, start with the most specific part of the location (the room name, for example, or room number) and move to the least specific (the campus name, for example, or the name of the University). For example: 12th-Floor Lounge, Corrigan Conference Center, Lowenstein Center, Lincoln Center Campus, Fordham University.

When listing addresses, it is acceptable to abbreviate the words Avenue, Boulevard, and Street as Ave., Blvd., and St., respectively, when they are used with a numerical address: 2982 Main St., for example.

In running copy, however, we prefer to spell out Avenue, Boulevard, and Street: The address of Joseph A. Martino Hall is 45 Columbus Avenue.

Those words should be spelled out and capitalized when they are part of a formal street name without a number: Pennsylvania Avenue, for example.

Lowercase and spell them out when they are used alone or with more than one street name: on the avenue, between Lexington and Madison avenues.

All similar words—alley, drive, road, terrace, place, etc.—should be spelled out.

Use figures for an address number: 1 Central Park West, not One Central Park West.

Spell out and capitalize First through Ninth when they’re used as part of street or avenue names; use figures with two letters (th or st, as appropriate) for 10th and above.

Compass points used to indicate directional ends of a street or quadrants of a city in a numbered address may be abbreviated. For example, 222 E. 42nd St., 600 K St. N.W.

Do not abbreviate them with street names, however, if the number in the address is omitted (East 42nd Street, K Street Northwest) or if the directional is part of the street name (84 West End Ave.).

Exceptions: For presidential-level invitations, save-the-date cards, programs, etc., it is acceptable to spell out the elements in a street address: 222 East 42nd Street, for example.

When referring to a post office box in editorial copy, place periods in the abbreviation P.O. Box.

Use a postal address on mailing envelopes when providing an address to which mail will be sent. For example, 45 Columbus Ave., 8th Floor, New York, NY 10023

(Note that there are no periods in NY or any other postal abbreviations for states.)

In running copy, spell out the state name. For example, Fordham’s Westchester campus is located in West Harrison, New York.

addressing correspondence

For guidance on forms of address, refer to Emily Post’s Guide to Addressing Correspondence.

adviser (not advisor)

advisory

affect, effect

Affect is generally used as a verb meaning “to influence.” Your attendance and test scores will affect your grade.

Effect is generally used as a noun meaning “result.” His test score had a positive effect on his final grade.

Both words have other meanings, but these are the most common uses.

African American (n.), African-American (adj.)

Use a hyphen only when the words are being used as a modifier. Pay attention, however, to the official names of departments and organizations. For example: the Department of African and African American Studies at Fordham University; the Bronx African-American History Project.

The term African American can be used to describe an American black person of African descent. It is also acceptable to use the term black. Note, however, that the terms are not interchangeable. People from Caribbean nations, for example, generally refer to themselves as Caribbean American. When referring to a person’s nationality or race, be as precise as possible and follow the person’s preference. The same applies to other ethnic/racial terms, such as Asian American.

ages

Always use figures for people and animals. My niece is 2 years old. Ages used as an adjective before a noun or as a substitute for a noun require hyphens: The 21-year-old student, but the student is 21 years old.

Ailey/Fordham BFA in Dance Program

The Ailey/Fordham BFA in dance program is a partnership between the Ailey School (the official school of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater) and Fordham College at Lincoln Center.

alumni

Use the following terms:

alumnus when referring to one male

alumna when referring to one female

alumni when referring to two or more former students, if some or all are male

alumnae when referring to two or more former students, if all are female

Avoid using the words alum or alums in written copy, unless they are part of a direct quotation. The phrase alumni and alumnae is acceptable but not preferred when referring to a group of male and female alumni. Do not use the construction alumni and/or alumnae and alumni/ae.

Identify Fordham University alumni by their school or college affiliation(s) and their class year(s). The correct format is as follows: the person’s name, followed by a comma; the school or college code (above), with no comma after it; and the two-digit year of graduation, preceded by an apostrophe.

For example: John Jones, FCRH ’05

Note: Quotation marks can face right or left, but apostrophes always face left.

Place a comma after the year of graduation if the sentence continues after it. If the person earned more than one Fordham degree, list all of them in the above format, separated only by commas, starting with the earliest degree earned and proceeding in chronological order.

For example: John D. Feerick, FCRH ’58, LAW ’61, has successfully mediated labor disputes.

If someone has earned more than one degree from the same school or college in different years, write GSAS ’72, ’75, for example.

It is also acceptable to include the abbreviation(s) and year(s) of graduation in parentheses, particularly if they appear in a sentence that already includes text set off by commas. Using parentheses often will make the copy easier to read. For example: Marie Menna Pagliaro, PhD (GSE ’78), is the author of four books.

Take care, however, to stick with one style—parentheses or commas. Do not use two different styles in the same article.

We do not use this style to indicate current students’ anticipated graduation year. Instead, we note that a student is a member of the Class of 2019, for example, or we indicate a student’s year, i.e., freshman, sophomore, junior, or senior.

ampersand (&)

The ampersand, written as &, is used only if it is part of the official title of an organization, scholarship fund, etc.

Exception: The ampersand may be used as a design element in promotional materials.

and/or

Avoid using this expression. The word or alone usually suffices. For example: If we write, Guests may have coffee or tea, it will be generally understood that guests may have coffee or tea, both (for whatever reason), or neither. If the choices are mutually exclusive, it would be better to write, Guests may have coffee or tea but not both. In some cases, it may be necessary to be more specific. For example, when describing the possible punishment for a crime, it may be necessary to write, a $20,000 fine or five years in jail or both.

apostrophes

Apostrophes generally are used to indicate possession, contraction, or missing letters or figures. For example: Fordham’s campus; don’t walk; Class of ’99.

We also use an apostrophe when indicating the plural form of a single letter. For example: She received three A’s and one B. But we do not use an apostrophe to indicate the plural form of numbers or acronyms. For example: She bought CDs during the 1990s.

archdiocese, Archdiocese of New York

Lowercase the word archdiocese except when it is used as part of a proper name.

area codes

Do not use parentheses. Use hyphens with phone numbers. For example, 800-969-2275 or 212-555-2275.

athletics

It is the Fordham University Department of Athletics or the athletics department, not the athletic department.

Fordham athletics is also acceptable.

Fordham sponsors 23 men’s and women’s varsity sports teams. The Fordham Rams are members of the NCAA Division I and compete in the Atlantic 10 Conference (A-10) in baseball, basketball, cross country, golf, indoor and outdoor track, rowing, soccer, softball, squash, swimming and diving, tennis, volleyball, and water polo, and in the Patriot League (Division I-AA) for football.

barbecue (not barbeque or BBQ)

biannual, biennial

Biannual is twice a year. Biennial is every two years.

Bible, bible, biblical

Capitalize Bible when referring specifically to the Scriptures in the Old Testament or the New Testament. Lowercase bible when used as a nonreligious term. The beatniks’ bible is Jack Kerouac’s novel On the Road.

Lowercase biblical in all uses.

biblical citations

Genesis 1:21, 1 Corinthians 13: 4–8, Matthew 5: 1–12

black

Lowercase when referring to race or color.

Board of Trustees

Capitalize Board of Trustees when referring to the Fordham University Board of Trustees.

book titles
See Titles

building names and campus locations (partial list)

bulleted lists
(See vertical lists.)

campus

Lowercase in almost all instances: Fordham University’s Rose Hill campus is in the Bronx, its Lincoln Center campus is in Manhattan, and its Westchester campus is in West Harrison, New York.

Exceptions: The word campus should be capitalized in invitations and in listings of events. For example:

4 December
Fordham University Choir Annual Festival of Lessons and Carols
3 p.m. | University Church | Rose Hill Campus

capitalization

In general, avoid unnecessary capitalization. Capitalize nouns that uniquely identify a particular person, place, or thing. When in doubt, use lowercase.

Professional and academic titles are capitalized when they immediately precede names and are used as part of names. They are lowercase when they follow names or are used to help describe or identify people further.

Professor John Davenport, PhD, said …

John Davenport, PhD, professor of philosophy, said …

Academic and administrative titles are capitalized, however—whether or not the title precedes or follows the name—if the person holds a named professorship or an endowed professorship. For example: Heather Dubrow, PhD, is the John D. Boyd, SJ, Chair in Poetic Imagination …

Titles are also capitalized in formal invitations, regardless of whether they precede or follow the person’s name.

The Reverend Joseph M. McShane, SJ, President of Fordham University, cordially invites you to a regional reception for Fordham alumni …

Some Fordham-specific examples:

Lowercase commencement but capitalize Fordham University’s 165th Annual Commencement.

Capitalize common nouns when they are an integral part of the full name of a person, place, or thing. Lowercase common nouns when they stand alone in subsequent references. For example: New York City, the city; the Louis Calder Center, the center;the William D. Walsh Family Library, the library.

In the same vein, capitalize center and department only when they are used as part of a formal title. For example: the Department of History; the Center for Community Engaged Learning. Lowercase them if they are used to refer to a center or department informally: The history department offers courses at the undergraduate and graduate levels. The center is grounded in the Jesuit philosophy of homines pro aliis, men and women for others.

Capitalize Homecoming and Jubilee when referring to the annual Fordham events.

University is capitalized when it refers to Fordham, as is Board of Trustees when it refers to the Fordham University Board of Trustees.

The word Mass is capitalized when it refers to the ceremony. It is celebrated, not said.

Capitalize the word room when it is used with a number: Room 827.

Use lowercase for class years: freshman, sophomore, junior, senior.

Capitalize Fordham University Rams and Fordham Rams, but do not capitalize the names of Fordham sports teams: the Fordham University women’s basketball team.

Lowercase class unless it refers to a specific class: She is the class president; she is the president of the Class of 2015. The Class of 1975 had its reunion. Class of ’75 is also acceptable.

Seasons: In general, use lowercase. Capitalize only when the season is used as part of a formal name: fall semester, Father Ryan’s Fall 2017 McGinley Lecture.

See Headlines for guidance on how to use capitalization in headlines and subheads.

centuries

Follow AP style, which is to lowercase centuries and spell out the first through ninth. For example: third century, 19th century. Use a hyphen when the century is used as a modifier. For example: 18th-century classical music.

chair, chairman, chairwoman

Use chair to refer to the head of Fordham University’s Board of Trustees. When referring to people in organizations outside the University, use their official title.

church

Capitalize church when it is the formal name of a building, a congregation, or a denomination; lowercase it in other uses: Church of St. Paul the Apostle, the Catholic Church, a Roman Catholic church on Columbus Avenue. Lowercase church in phrases where the word church is used in an institutional sense: The pope expressed the church’s teaching on economic justice, condemning the “idolatry of the market.”

Clery Act

The Jeanne Clery Act requires colleges and universities to publish a yearly security and fire safety report. Fordham’s annual report is available online [[ADD URL]]]. Fordham also publishes a notice regarding the Clery Act in its viewbook and its Undergraduate Bulletin and other publications. [[ADD OR LINK TO TEXT OF THE NOTICE?]]

co-

Use a hyphen when forming words that indicate occupation or status: co-author, for example.

cocktails

In invitations and other event materials, it is appropriate to use the word cocktails but not the phrases open bar or hosted bar.

colons

Capitalize the first word after a colon if it begins a complete sentence or is a proper noun. Otherwise, lowercase the first word after a colon.

commas

Use commas to separate items in a series. When a conjunction joins the last two elements in a series of three or more, use a comma—known as the serial comma or the Oxford comma—before the conjunction. For example: The flag is red, white, and blue. He would nominate Tom, Dick, or Harry.

If the last element consists of a pair joined by and, a serial comma and the first and should still precede the pair: He is a professor of marketing, finance, and communications and media management.

Use semicolons in a list that includes elements containing conjunctions or commas. For example, She said Fordham’s campuses have changed in recent years, citing the renovation of Hughes Hall; the opening of Campbell, Salice, and Conley residence halls at Rose Hill; and the new Fordham Law building and McKeon Hall on the Lincoln Center campus.

Do not use commas before or after Jr., Sr., III, or Inc., Co., Ltd., etc.

Do not use a comma to introduce partial quotes. For example: Father McShane noted that the year was “one of the most successful” in the University’s recent history.

Commas may be omitted for aesthetic reasons at the end of lines set in large display type (on signage, invitations, programs, ads, etc.) as long no confusion results from not using the comma.

The Reverend Joseph M. McShane, SJ

President, Fordham University

commencement

Lowercase commencement but capitalize Fordham University’s 165th Annual Commencement.

companies, corporations, firms, organizations, institutions

Use the formal name of the company on first reference. In general, follow the spelling and capitalization preferred by the company: iMac, eBay. But capitalize the first letter if it begins a sentence.

Do not use all capital letters unless the letters are individually pronounced: ESPN and BMW, for example, but Alcoa (not ALCOA).

Do not use symbols (for example, exclamation points or plus signs) that might distract or confuse a reader. Use an ampersand only if it is part of the company’s formal name.

Only use an abbreviation—for example, Co., Corp., Inc., and Ltd.—if a business uses it at the end of its proper name. Do not, however, use commas to set off the abbreviation.

If you’re in doubt about the formal name of a company, consult either the company or Standard & Poor’s Register of Corporations.

Note: Exceptions to these guidelines may be made in publications that list donors, when donors provide explicit guidance on how to list corporate names.

copyright statement

A copyright statement should be added to all printed materials, excluding invitations, programs, and fliers. It includes the name of the University, the year, the fact that Development and University Relations produced the item, and the job number, followed by eeo, indicating that the University is an equal opportunity employer.

© Fordham University 2013. Produced by Development and University Relations. 13-0100 eeo

course titles

Titles of courses should be capitalized and presented in roman text. Do not italicize course titles or put them between quotation marks. See Headlines for more information on how to use capitalization in course titles.

coursework

cyber (prefix)

Words with the prefix cyber (cyberspace, cybersecurity, cyberterrorism, cyberbullying) should be treated as one word, no hyphen.

If a cyber term is used as two words in the official name of an organization, a person's professional title, the title of a paper, or in a direct quotation from a paper or book, follow the organization or the author’s use of the term.

dashes

Use an em dash (—) to indicate emphasis or interruption. A pair of em dashes can be used like parentheses, to set off a word or phrase. Do not include spaces on either side of an em dash:

It is perhaps not surprising that the man who took the name Francis when he was elected pope—after Francis of Assisi, patron saint of the environment—would make environmental issues a priority of his papacy.

Use an en dash (–) to indicate a range, usually a date or time range. It is also used for scores when writing about athletics. For a time range, include spaces on either side of the en dash. For a date range, do not.

Executive Education Seminar

January 17–19, 2013

8 a.m. – 5 p.m.

To indicate a range in running text, use a word (usually “to”) instead of the en dash:

The Executive Education Seminar will take place from January 17 to 19, 2017. Sessions will run from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

An en-dash can also be used in a two-word modifier to indicate opposition or tension, or to indicate movement:

He couldn’t see the walk–don’t walk sign in the blizzard.

There are three direct New York–Los Angeles flights each day.

dates

Capitalize the names of months in all uses. When a month is used with a specific date, it is OK to abbreviate Jan., Feb., Aug., Sept., Oct., Nov., and Dec. Do not abbreviate March, April, May, June, or July.

Spell out all months when they are used without a specific date, or with a year and not a specific date. For example: Jan. 2 was the coldest day of the month. I predict that January 2022 will be the coldest month on record.

When a phrase lists only a month and a year, do not separate the year with commas; when a phrase refers to a month, day, and year, set off the year with commas: January 1972 was a cold month. Feb. 14, 1987, was a cold day.

Use only numerals with the month and year. Do not write April first or April 1st.

Formal style: For presidential-level invitations, save-the-date cards, programs, etc., use the formal style for dates. List the day first, then spell out the month; do not use a comma after the calendar year: 9 February 2016. Fordham’s online alumni events calendar also uses the formal style.

For all other event materials, it is acceptable to use the common style for dates. Spell out the day of the week (if using) and month. For example: Monday, February 8, 2016.

Be sure to use one style consistently throughout any document or marketing piece, including the RSVP section.

decision-making

department names

The full, formal name should be capitalized. For example: the Department of Economics at Fordham University. It is OK to flip the order and write, less formally, the economics department. In the less formal construction, the department name should not be capitalized, unless, of course, the department name includes a proper noun: Department of English, English department.

diacritical marks

Take care to include diacritical marks—such as á, ç, é, ñ, ó, ü, etc.—if they are part of a person’s name. For example, Adolfo Carrión Jr.

directions and regions

Lowercase compass directions. Capitalize words that denote specific regions: He drove west. The Midwest is known for great basketball.

disabilities

Avoid using disabled or handicapped or impaired to describe people. If it is pertinent to the story, try to be as specific as possible when describing the person’s disability or handicap or impairment.

doctor

Use the abbreviation Dr. only for those who hold medical degrees. Readers generally associate the abbreviation with physicians, so it is better not to use Dr. to refer to people who hold a PhD, EdD, DSW, etc. When using the abbreviation Dr. to refer to someone who holds a medical degree, use it on first reference, and use only the person’s last name on subsequent references.

dormitories
Avoid referring to Fordham’s residence halls as dormitories or dorms.

Electronic Media Terms

blog
CMS (content management system)
cyberspace
cybersecurity
database
download
drop-down menu
email
e-newsletter
Facebook
friend (verb)
Google (noun)
google (verb)
homepage
iTunes
Internet
listserv
log in (verb)
login (noun)
microblog
MP3
multicast
my.fordham.edu
online
password
podcast
QR code
smartphone
social media
tweet
Twitter
URL
username
web
webcast
webmaster
web page
website
wiki
YouTube

e-terms:

With the exception of email, use a hyphen after the letter e and lowercase the word that follows the hyphen. For example: e-book, e-business, e-commerce, e-reader. Exceptions are made for the official names of organizations. For example, eBay does not take a hyphen. Note that the e should be capitalized when the term appears at the beginning of a sentence.

ellipsis ( … )

Treat an ellipsis as a three-letter word consisting of three periods. When using it in running text to indicate the deletion of one or more missing words in condensing text or quotations, make sure there is a single space before and after the ellipsis. If the words that precede the ellipsis form a complete sentence, use a period after the last word before the ellipsis, followed by a single space before and after the ellipsis. Take care when using an ellipsis not to delete text that would change the meaning of the original text or quotation.

email

emeritus

Not the same as retired. The title emeritus (for men) or emerita (for women) or emeriti (for more than one professor, male or female) is bestowed on many but not all retired faculty members. Place the word emeritus after the formal title: Joseph A. O’Hare, SJ, president emeritus of Fordham University; professor emeritus of theology.

endowed chair, endowed professorship, endowed scholarships

Lowercase these terms when used generically to refer to scholarships or faculty positions. But capitalize the full title of an endowed chair. For example, Increasing the number of endowed chairs is one of the top five goals of Excelsior | Ever Upward | The Campaign for Fordham. The Paul and Diane Guenther Chair in American History is one of dozens of endowed chairs created at Fordham since the start of the campaign.

Always use the full title on first reference. It is OK to shorten the name of the chair on subsequent references. For example, the Paul and Diane Guenther Chair in American History, the Guenther Chair. (Note the capitalization of the word chair.)

When identifying the person who holds the chair, it is OK to change Chair in to Professor of. For example, Saul Cornell, PhD, the Paul and Diane Guenther Professor of American History, published an opinion piece in The New York Times.

ensure, insure

Use ensure to mean guarantee; use insure for references to insurance.

entitled, titled

Entitled means a right to do or have something. She’s entitled to a raise. It is not interchangeable with titled. Raymond Schroth, SJ, is the author of a book titled (not entitled) Fordham: A History and Memoir.

farther, further

Farther refers to physical distance. Further refers to an extension of time or degree.

fewer, less

In general, use fewer for individual items, less for bulk or quantity.

fiancé, fiancée

Masculine and feminine forms, respectively

first come, first served

If using the term as a modifier, hyphenate as follows: Samples will be distributed on a first-come, first-served basis.

Fordham Founder’s Award Dinner

Note the apostrophe in Founder’s.

Fordham Foundry

The Fordham Foundry is a small-business incubator located on Fordham Road in the Bronx that provides support to entrepreneurs in the Fordham and Bronx communities. It is run by Fordham’s Center for Entrepreneurship.

Fordham Fund

This is the name of Fordham University’s annual giving program, formerly known as the Fordham University Annual Fund.

Fordham University, the University

The following text (also know as the University’s boilerplate) appears is a short description of the University:

Founded in 1841, Fordham is the Jesuit University of New York, offering exceptional education distinguished by the Jesuit tradition across nine schools. Fordham awards baccalaureate, graduate, and professional degrees to approximately 15,000 students from Fordham College at Rose Hill, Fordham College at Lincoln Center, the Gabelli School of Business (undergraduate and graduate), the School of Professional and Continuing Studies, the Graduate Schools of Arts and Sciences, Education, Religion and Religious Education, and Social Service, and the School of Law. The University has residential campuses in the Bronx and Manhattan, a campus in West Harrison, New York, the Louis Calder Center Biological Field Station in Armonk, New York, and the London Centre in the United Kingdom.

University should be capitalized when it is used to refer specifically to Fordham, but not if it is used in a generic sense. For example: The University has three residential campuses; Fordham is a Jesuit university; Fordham is the Jesuit University of New York.

Fordham University Veterans Initiative (or FordhamVets)

It is OK to use FordhamVets on first reference. This initiative provides both financial assistance and campus-based services for veterans of the armed services.

foreign terms

Many foreign words have been accepted into the English language and require no explanation: bon voyage, hors d’oeuvres. For more obscure foreign words or phrases, use italics on first reference and offer an explanation where helpful and appropriate. Use roman type on subsequent reference:

The children sang a selection of juoigos, or folk songs, at the festival.

Do not italicize foreign place names or other proper nouns.

The couple strolled down the Champs-Élysées to the Arc de Triomphe.

fundraising, fundraiser

GPA (grade point average)

halftime

healthcare

headlines

Always capitalize the first and last words in headlines and subheads, and capitalize all major words (nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, and some conjunctions) in between. Lowercase the articles the, a, an. Lowercase prepositions regardless of length, unless they are used as adverbs or adjectives (Tune In to WFUV) or when they’re part of a Latin expression used as an adverb or adjective (De Facto, In Vitro). The word to should be lowercase not only as a preposition but also as part of an infinitive. Lowercase the conjunctions and, but, for, or, and nor. Lowercase as. Lowercase the parts of a surname that would be lowercased in running text, such as van or de. Lowercase the second part of a species name (Homo sapiens). When spelling out hyphenated numbers, capitalize the second part: Twenty-Five. For other hyphenated terms, capitalize the second part if that part of the phrase would be capitalized on its own (12th-Floor Lounge).

Hispanic

A term used to describe someone from—or whose ancestors are from—a Spanish-speaking country or culture. Be more specific when possible (i.e. Puerto Rican, Mexican-American) and follow the person’s preference.

hors d’oeuvre

inclusive language

When writing about people or groups of people, avoid using he when referring to a person not specified. Instead, try to rewrite the sentence using the plural form of the noun. For example, when writing about a group of male and female students, avoid writing Each student did what she was asked to do. Instead, write The students did what they were asked to do.

Try to avoid using gender-specific terms for titles and occupations:

Use chair instead of chairman or chairwoman.

Use actor for all actors, male and female.

Use representative or senator instead of congressman where possible.

If using male and female pronouns, avoid the constructions he/she and s/he. Instead, use he or she.

its, it’s

Its indicates possession (belonging to “it”); it’s is a contraction (“it is,” “it has”).

Joseph M. McShane, SJ, president of Fordham University

For invitations and other formal announcements (including when he celebrates Mass):

The Reverend Joseph M. McShane, SJ, President of Fordham University (Note the capitalization of president in this use.)

In all other written communication, first reference is …

Joseph M. McShane, SJ, president of Fordham University. He is Father McShane in subsequent references. He is the president of Fordham University (not the University president). It is also OK to write Fordham University President Joseph M. McShane, SJ …

junior, senior

Abbreviate Jr. and Sr. when used with full names. Commas should not precede or follow these abbreviations: Adolfo Carrión Jr.

kickoff (n.), kick off (v.)

Latin terms

Lowercase and italicize the following Latin terms:

Academic honors:

cum laude, magna cum laude, and summa cum laude

Jesuit ideals:

cura personalis, magis, and homines pro aliis

Fordham’s motto:

Sapientia et Doctrina (Wisdom and Learning)

Some Latin and foreign terms have become commonplace in the English vocabulary and do not require italics. For example, alma mater and hors d’oeuvres.

Latino, Latina

A term used to describe someone from—or whose ancestors are from—a Spanish-speaking country or culture, or a country or culture of Latin America. Be more specific when possible (i.e. Cuban, Puerto Rican, Brazilian) and try to follow the person’s preference.

majors and minors
Major and minor academic fields of study should be lowercase, with the exception of those disciplines that are proper nouns: sociology, biology, theology, English, economics, international political economy, Latin American and Latino studies, etc. This guideline also applies to academic degrees.

Mass

The word Mass is always capitalized when it refers to the ceremony. Mass is celebrated, not said.

midnight

Lowercase. Use instead of 12 a.m.

military titles

Follow AP Style.

minorities

Avoid using this term. When it is appropriate to refer to people by race, specify the group(s) being identified. See, in particular, the entries on race and nationalities and races in the AP Stylebook. Or use the term underrepresented, if appropriate.

money

Always use figures. For dollars, use the $ sign: a $200 gift, $50 million. Spell out the words cent and cents in written text: 5 cents, a 39-cent stamp.

more than, over

Over generally refers to spatial relationships; more than is preferred with numerals: The plane flew over the city. More than 100 people attended the party.

names

Refer to both men and women by their first and last name. Use the courtesy titles Mr., Miss, Ms., or Mrs. only in direct quotations. If the person has earned a doctoral-level degree—PhD, EdD, MD, etc.—include the abbreviation for the degree, set off by commas, after the person’s name: John Davenport, PhD, is a Fordham professor.

For Jesuits, include the abbreviation SJ after the person’s name in the same fashion: Robert R. Grimes, SJ, is the dean of Fordham College at Lincoln Center.

In general, use last names only on subsequent reference. The exceptions to this are for those who hold religious titles. For example: Father Grimes is also a talented singer.

Include a woman’s maiden name according to her preference. In certain cases, such as in the alumni notes section of FORDHAM magazine, a woman’s maiden name may be included in parentheses even if she does not currently use it as part of her full name.

Mary (Jenkins) Smith, FCRH ’79, retired in June after 25 years of teaching.

Avoid redundancies: Do not precede a name with a courtesy title for an academic degree and follow it with the abbreviation for the degree in the same reference. Wrong: Dr. Kevin Cahill, MD.

New York is my campus. Fordham is my school.

This expression, used on the homepage of the Fordham website and in some of the University’s other marketing materials, should not be abbreviated or adapted in any way. For example, we should not replace the word Fordham with the name of a particular school or college at the University.

nondiscrimination policy

Fordham University’s nondiscrimination policy should be included in all materials that are used primarily for recruitment purposes.

nonprofit

numbers and numerals

Spell out numbers one through nine and use numerals for 10 or above: Three people went on the tour this morning. The students visited 22 cities during the study abroad program.

Spell out numbers when they are used at the start of a sentence: Seventy-five students showed up for the exam.

An exception to this rule is a numeral that indicates a calendar year. 1975 was a good year.

If spelling out numbers at the start of a sentence is cumbersome, revise the sentence: Instead of writing Nine hundred ninety-six students participated last year, it would be better to write: Last year, 996 students participated.

When the word number is used with a figure to express a ranking or concept, use the abbreviation No. For example: That song has been No. 1 on the charts for weeks.

For plural numerals, add an s with no apostrophe.

office

Capitalize only when it is part of an official name (Office of External Affairs, but external affairs office; Office of Safety and Security, but safety and security office). See departments.

OK, OK’d, OK’ing, OKs

No periods. Do not use okay. 

parents

Parents of Fordham University alumni should be identified by the abbreviation PAR and their son or daughter’s year (or expected year) of graduation. For example: Rosemary Ocejo, PAR ’02

The Fordham Parents Fund

The Fordham Parents’ Leadership Council

The Parents’ Leadership Council is a network of parents who are committed to working with Fordham administrators to promote the well-being and advancement of the University.

percent

In running copy, spell out percent—don’t use the % symbol. It always should be preceded by a numeral: 5 percent, for example. In charts, it is OK to use the % symbol.

pregame, preseason, postgame, postseason

premiere

A first performance (not premier)

The President’s Council

Presidents Day

principal, principle

Principal refers to someone or something first in authority or importance: school principal, principal player, principal problem. Principle refers to a fundamental truth: the principle of self-determination.

program

Capitalize only if it is part of the official name of a program. Lowercase for shortened, subsequent references.

Q&A 

not Q-and-A

Ram

Capitalize when referring to the University’s mascot: the Fordham Ram, for example, or the Rams.

regarding

regarding or in regard to (never in regards to)

religious titles
(See names.)

research centers

Refer to the Research Centers and Institutes page on Fordham’s website, www.fordham.edu/centers, for an up-to-date listing.

RSVP

Not R.S.V.P. Do not use please before RSVP. It is redundant.

school codes

The following abbreviations and acronyms are used to identify alumni by the school or college they attended.

scores

Use a hyphen between the scores of the winning and losing teams in a competitive event. Do not include spaces on either side of the hyphen.

The Yankees beat the Red Sox, 5-3, on Friday.

Use a comma for this format:

New York 5, Boston 3

SJ

SJ stands for the Society of Jesus, the religious order to which Jesuits belong.

For Jesuits (members of the Society of Jesus), include the initials SJ after the person’s name, set off by commas: Joseph Koterski, SJ, is a professor of philosophy at Fordham.

Note that not all members of the Society of Jesus are priests. For those who have been ordained priests, use the word Father before the person’s last name on subsequent reference. Father Koterski is a former chair of the philosophy department. For those who have not been ordained to the priesthood, use only the person’s last name on subsequent reference.

In general, we do not include a doctoral degree designation (PhD, EdD, etc.) after the name of a Jesuit who has earned such a degree. If you prefer to include that designation, list PhD first, followed by SJ.

Social Media

Facebook is a social networking website. When promoting a Fordham fan page on Facebook, use Find us on Facebook or Like us on Facebook.

Twitter is an online social networking service. A tweet is the 140-character message published on Twitter. Tweet can be used either as a noun or a verb. For example: I just ran into John Lovitz outside the office. I have to tweet this. Did you read my tweet about running into Jon Lovitz? When promoting Twitter pages, use: Follow us on Twitter.

spaces

Use only one space after periods and colons; use only one space after commas; and do not use spaces around an em dash.

state names

The names of the 50 U.S. states should be spelled out in copy, whether the state name is used alone or in conjunction with a city, town, etc.

Use New York state (lowercase state) when it’s necessary to distinguish between the state and New York City. Use state of Washington or Washington state when it’s necessary to distinguish the state from the District of Columbia. Washington State is the name of a university in the state of Washington.

Place one comma between the city and the state name, and another comma after the state name, when using both names in a sentence. For example: They left Nashville, Tennessee, on Monday and arrived in Austin, Texas, on Thursday.

St. Ignatius Loyola

Not St. Ignatius of Loyola

student-athlete

telephone numbers

212-555-1234
(no parentheses for area codes)

theater vs. theatre

Use “theater” unless the proper (and official) name is spelled differently. Some Fordham-specific examples are: the Department of Theatre and Visual Arts, the theatre program at Fordham, the McNally Amphitheatre, etc.

In promotional materials for Fordham’s theater department, use “theatre” throughout the piece, in all cases, to avoid the appearance of inconsistency.

time

Do not use ciphers (1 p.m., not 1:00 p.m.). Use a.m. or p.m.—lowercase, with periods. Avoid redundancies such as 10 a.m. tomorrow morning. It is OK to use noon and midnight instead of 12 p.m. and 12 a.m.

time periods
Always spell out the word to in editorial copy when indicating a period of time: The event will take place on Saturday from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. When using an en dash in place of the word to indicate a period of time, include one space on each side of the en dash: 3 – 5 p.m.

tipoff (n.), tip off (v.)

titles of works and academic lectures

Italicize the titles of books, periodicals (including “The,” if appropriate), newsletters, plays, book-length poems, films, art exhibitions, paintings, sculptures, comic strips, radio and television series, and long musical compositions.

Use quotation marks with the titles of theses, dissertations, short stories, poems, articles, essays, chapters of books, song titles and other short musical works, and episodes of television series. For example, the “Hamsterdam” episode of The Wire.

Use quotation marks with the titles of academic lectures. For example, “Learning in Young and Aging Brains: A Neuroscientific and Psychological Perspective.”

toward

Not towards

trustees
Use Fordham University Board of Trustees on first reference and Board of Trustees on subsequent references when referring to Fordham’s Board of Trustees.  

University 

University is capitalized when it refers to Fordham. For example: Athletics are a major part of student life at Fordham. The University offers 23 varsity teams and 11 athletic clubs.

URLs

Many URLs can be abbreviated. It is not necessary, for example, to use http:// in web addresses. Similarly, it may not be necessary to use www. Test the URL to see if you can reach the desired webpage without these components. If so, we recommend not using http:// and www. For example: Apply online at pcs.fordham.edu.

Do not underline URLs. Do not format URLs in italics. If you want to draw attention to a URL in a printed piece, consider using bold or a color. For the most part, URLs should be lowercased; test the URL to be sure it is not case-sensitive.

A period should follow a web or email address if the address comes at the end of a complete sentence:

For more information, visit fordham.edu.

For more information, email [email protected].

We believe it is common knowledge that the period is not part of the URL. Should you wish to emphasize this and your URL is formatted in bold or in a color, then the period should revert to the previous (often regular/roman or black) type.

Try to avoid breaking a URL at the end of a line of text. When the URL does not fit entirely on one line, break it into two or more lines without adding a hyphen or other punctuation mark.

vertical lists

When possible, introduce a vertical list with a complete sentence, followed by a colon. If the items in the list are numbered, a period should follow the numeral and each item should begin with a capital letter. If items run over one line, the second and subsequent lines should be indented.

Items in a vertical list take no periods unless one or more of the items are complete sentences. If the vertical list completes a sentence begun in the introductory element, the final period is omitted unless the items in the list are separated by commas or semicolons.

All of our presidential suites include several amenities:

• coffee makers
• writing desks
• Jacuzzi tubs
• high-speed Internet

Commas are not usually used following a series of brief items in a vertical list. But when the items in the list are phrases, especially long phrases, that complete the sentence containing them, each item may be separated by commas (or semicolons, if a comma or commas are used within one or more items), with the last item taking a period. A colon should not be used to introduce a list in which the listed items combine with the introductory text to form a complete sentence.

The CEO said the company has been able to

• increase sales by 22 percent during the first quarter;
• improve productivity, particularly in U.S. factories;
• provide all employees with a 3 percent raise.

A conjunction before the final item (and or or) is optional.

When the items in a list form a complete sentence, begin the item with a capital letter and end it with a period.

Before shutting down your computer, complete the following steps:

• Save your work.
• Quit all open applications.
• Log out. 

WFUV (90.7 FM, wfuv.org) 

Fordham’s public radio station. OK to use FUV on subsequent references, sparingly.

white

Lowercase when referring to race or color. 

years

Set the year off with commas when it appears with a full date: On Feb. 2, 1954, Phil the groundhog …

For decades, use an s without an apostrophe: 1930s and ’30s (not 1930’s or 30’s). On first reference, use 1930s not ’30s.

For centuries, the preferred format is the 20th century, not the 1900s. Also, note that with regard to centuries, numbers less than 10 should be spelled out: the third century.

Write 2011–2012 for the academic year (note the en dash). Avoid writing 2011–12.

ZIP code 

Use all caps in all cases.