academic dean—see dean of the College.

academic degrees—As an academic institution, we will follow proper rules. When speaking generally, use doctorate, bachelor's degree, master's degree (note use of apostrophes). Specific academic degrees should be capitalized (ex: Bachelor of Arts degree); when abbreviated, they should include periods: B.A. degree, B.S. degree, M.A. degree, M.S. degree, M.D. degree, or Ph.D. degree.

For lesser-known degrees, such as Master of Fine Arts, Master of Public Administration, Juris Doctor, etc., spell out the entire title, using capitalization on all words except degree. Subsequent references to these degrees should use periods (ex.: M.B.A. degree, M.F.A. degree). Honorary degrees are only referenced if they are from Beloit College.

academic and administrative titles—see titles.

Academic Achievement Programs (formerly the Educational Development Program)—the umbrella organization that administers two federally funded grants. Student Support Services provides primarily academic support to low-income first-generation college students and eligible students with disabilities; the McNair program (formal name: Ronald E. McNair Post-Baccalaureate Achievement Program) provides graduate school preparation to ethnic minorities and underrepresented students. These are both TRIO programs. The AAP's office is on the second floor of Pearsons Hall.

academic honors—see Honors Day convocation.

Academic Senate—Avoid reference to Faculty Senate because students and staff also make up the Academic Senate and its myriad committees.

The Academic Senate committees include (as of Sept. 2005):

Academic Performance Committee (aPC)
Academic Policy Committee (APC)
Admissions and Financial Aid
Appeals Committee
Athletics
Cultural and Community Affairs
Faculty Status and Performance (FS&P)
Judicial Board
Writing Committee

accents (and other foreign marks)—Use accents ( ´and ` ) when possible. Mac users: Get ´ over a letter by pressing option-e then appropriate letter. Get ` over a letter by pressing option-` (before the #1 key) and then appropriate letter. Get ˆ over a letter with option-i then letter. Get œ using option-q. Get ç with option-c. Get ß with option-s. Get ¨ with option-u then letter. Get ø with option-o. Get å with option-a. Get ˜ with option-n then letter. Get ¡ with option-1; get ¿ with option-shift-/

ACM—Associated Colleges of the Midwest consortium consists of 14 liberal arts colleges: Beloit, Carleton College (Northfield, Minn.), Coe College (Cedar Rapids, Iowa), Colorado College (Colorado Springs, Colo.), Cornell College (Mt. Vernon, Iowa), Grinnell College (Grinnell, Iowa), Knox College (Galesburg, Ill.), Lake Forest College (Lake Forest, Ill.), Lawrence University (Appleton, Wis.), Macalester College (St. Paul, Minn.), Monmouth College (Monmouth, Ill.), Ripon College (Ripon, Wis.), St. Olaf College (Northfield, Minn.), and University of Chicago (Chicago, Ill.).

acronyms—Generally, do not use periods, unless an organization's style calls for them. (One exception is "a.k.a." when used for "also known as.")

HOWEVER, when using a person's initials or talking about academic degrees, use periods: B.A., B.S., M.A., M.S., M.F.A., M.D., Ph.D., etc. Consider spelling out lesser-known degrees on first reference.

Avoid using all-caps for words that are not true acronyms, even if a company's style does so; instead, capitalize just the first letter of each word.

admissions—Capitalize the formal name (Office of Admissions) and the casual (Admissions Office). The senior staff member for student admission is the vice president for enrollment services. The recruitment officers are admissions (note plural) counselors.

addresses—see states.

adjunct faculty member—person not on tenure track whose association with the College is more permanent. This designation may be combined with any rank (assistant, associate, etc.) This designation may also be used for staff members who hold faculty rank. (Other schools may use different guidelines.)

administration/administrators—Use staff instead; "senior staff" refers to the president, the vice presidents, and the director of the Information Services and Resources division. Corporate officers are designated by the board of trustees and includes the College president, the five vice presidents, and the secretary of the College.

advisor

African-American—Use hyphen (same for other ethnic groups, such as Japanese-Americans). Be sensitive to the true ethnicity of other black people, such as Jamaican-Americans, or black people from other countries. Other terms to consider: minorities, ethnic minorities. (Note: The national month of observation is called Black History Month.)

Aldrich Field—intramural playing field at the northwest edge of campus, near the outdoor tennis courts and Aldrich Hall.

ALL CAPS—Avoid using all capital letters for words that are not true acronyms, even if a company's style does so; instead, capitalize just the first letter of each word.

Alliance, the—special-interest house for people who support gay and lesbian students.

alma mater—no caps and no italics; considered an English word by now.

alphabetizing—When listing people, states, languages, or countries, for example, add order to the list by alphabetizing them. Company names and foundations should be alphabetized by last name if it is clearly a person's name (Matilda Wilson Foundation would be under W); otherwise, alphabetize by the first major word (Dr. Scholl Foundation would be under D, Fillmore Thomas Co. is under F, Lyford Cay Foundation is under L). Mac and Mc should be alphabetized in the M section according to the second letter.

Alphas—members of Alpha Sigma Tau sorority. Also commonly referred to as ASTs. see appendix.

alumni—

1. singular vs. plural: One man is an alumnus; one woman is an alumna; several men, or a group of men and women, are alumni; several women are alumnae. The casual reference to "alum" should be avoided.
2. new names: Alumni who have changed their names since graduating, such as alumnae who assumed the last name of their husbands, will be listed by both the new name and the name by which they were known while attending Beloit. (Example: Jane Smith Johnson)

Alumni Association—refers to the Beloit College Alumni Association.

Alumni Association Board of Directors

Alumni Association Executive Board—Name as of fall 1999 is Alumni Association Board of Directors

Alumni Award—an honorary award given by the Beloit College Alumni Association in honor of service to the College and the Alumni Association.

Alumni Office—Capitalize the formal name (Office of Alumni Affairs) and the more casual reference (Alumni Office). see External Affairs, Office of.

alumni class years—

1. regular use: In most cases, use the apostrophe and the last two digits of the graduating year tacked directly onto the alumni names-no space and no comma between the name and year. (Example: John Smith'98 sang.) This construction does two things: avoids an apostrophe that faces the wrong way (which is difficult for many word-processing programs to correct) and eliminates the separation of class year from the name in a column of type.
2. for classes in another century: When needed to avoid confusion, use all four digits of the class year, surrounded by commas and spaces. (Example: John Smith, 1898, founded the group.)
3. couples: a. both alumni: Generally, list the year with each of their names, and be sure the woman-if she has a maiden name and married name-is listed last, to avoid repeating the last name. (Example: John'45 and Jane Taylor Smith'46). Be sensitive to exceptions, such as when the woman is the subject, and her spouse, whether alumnus or not, is also mentioned. (The Honor Roll of Contributors publication strives for "progressive consistency" by always listing the woman first.) b. just the man is an alumnus: Do not list the woman's maiden name (Examples: John'45 and Jane Smith or Jane and John Smith'45), unless that is also her married name (Example: John Smith'45 and Jane Taylor). c. just the woman is an alumna: List the couple as follows: John and Jane Taylor Smith'46 (woman has new married name), or Jane Taylor'46 and John Smith (woman kept her maiden name).
4. To indicate a parent of alumni or a current student, use parenthesis to set off a capitol P, and an apostrophe followed by alumni year. No space between the P and the apostrophe or the year (P'84).

alumni trustees—see board of trustees.

a.m./p.m.—Use lower case with periods instead of "o'clock." (Examples: 8 a.m.; 7:30 p.m.)

American Indian—Native American is another option. When referring to the builders of the campus mounds, use Indian (North American as a modifier is understood in this case).

AmeriCorps (note capital C)—national service program that allows people of all ages and backgrounds to help pay for education in exchange for a year of service.

ampersand (&)—Use this symbol if it is part of an official title; otherwise, spell out the word "and."

anniversaries—Use lower case for centennial, sesquicentennial, bicentennial when referring to general anniversaries. (Beloit will celebrate its bicentennial in 2047. The programs help celebrate the Beloit College sesquicentennial.)

annex—see Pearsons Hall.

anxious—Use when referring to anxiety, not eagerness.

APAP—The Alumni/Parents Admissions Program (note plurals) helps with college fairs around the country, initiating and maintaining contact with prospective students.

APC, "Big"—Academic Policy Committee of the Academic Senate.

aPC, "Little"—Academic Performance Committee of the Academic Senate.

archaeology

archives—Use lower-case letters when referring to the items in the archives. Capitalize when referring to Archives (the place)—also Beloit College Archives—located on the library's lower level. see appendix.

art graveyard—see Student Sculpture Garden and appendix.

Associated Colleges of the Midwest—see ACM.

basement—Generally, use lower level instead.

BAT—see Beloit Access Television.

Beinecke Scholarship—Beinecke Scholars are national winners of awards for graduate study in the arts, humanities, and social sciences.

BelCon—common reference to Beloit Student Congress, which is the student government.

Belmark Associates—student-run market-research organization sponsored by the economics and management department. Its office is in Campbell Hall.

Beloit 2000 RiverFront Project—As of 2005, this economic development project is called the Beloit 2020 RiverFront Project.

Beloit 2020 RiverFront Project—An economic development project that is a cooperative effort between College, community and regional constituents.

Beloit, city of—The word "city" is not capitalized.

Beloit Academy—an academic program providing after-school and summer learning opportunities for Beloit-area children in grades 4-7; falls under the Help Yourself program. Originally, Beloit Academy was a college-prep department from the College's earliest days through 1910.

Beloit Access Television—Beloit College's cable-access channel (12).

Beloit College—a liberal arts and sciences college. This wording is preferred by the Admissions Office as a way to reinforce the idea that our liberal arts college also has strong science programs.

Beloit College Magazine—"Magazine" is part of the official title. Do not precede name by "the" when referring to the full title. (Example: When you read Beloit College Magazine, tell us what you think.) Call it the magazine (lower case) in subsequent references.

Beloit College Museums—promotional construction only; otherwise, it should be "Beloit College museums" when referring to the Logan Museum of Anthropology and the Wright Museum of Art.

Beloit College Museums Gift Shop—the name of the gift shop located in the Godfrey Anthropology Building, which sells gifts related to and inspired by the Logan Museum of Anthropology and the Wright Museum of Art.

Beloit College Press—operates out of the Public Affairs Office and produces books of College-wide interest.

Beloit College Theatre—This is the name of an organization, not a department, and should be capitalized.

Beloit Fiction Journal—national fiction magazine that incorporates Beloit College undergraduate students on its editorial board. Its office is in the Writing Center/Learning Support Services Center, 635 College Street.

Beloit Fund—Capitalize when referring to the Beloit Fund (formerly Annual Fund), the pool of charitable gifts from sources other than tuition and the endowment that is used to balance the annual operating budget.

Beloit Janesville Symphony (BJS)—no hyphen or slash. Administrative offices are in the Hull-Dyson Center on campus.

Beloit Plan—Beloit College gained national attention through its innovative year-round educational program that emphasized study abroad and a term of "field work" or community service. It was introduced in 1964, and the last class to participate all four years was the class of 1978. Today's curriculum continues to emphasize international studies, experiential approaches, and interdisciplinary learning.

Beloit Poetry Garden—subsequent reference to the Poetry Garden is acceptable. A 14,500-square-foot public art space designed by world-renowned artist Siah Armajani. Located at the corner of Bushnell and College streets, the park-like setting was installed in 1999. It serves as a gateway to the campus and its path draws visitors to the steps of Memorial Hall, home of the Logan Museum of Anthropology. see appendix.

Beloit Poetry Journal—Founded in 1950 by three Beloit College professors, it is currently edited in Maine by Professor of English John Rosenwald.

Belwah—Use this construction when referring to the tongue-in-cheek French pronunciation of Beloit.

Belwah Circle—gift club of $100 to $249 annually.

Benefactors Circle—A gift club level within the Chapin Society ($10,000 to $24,999 annually).

biannually—use semiannually instead to mean twice a year, biennially to mean every other year. Confusion can occur by using the term biannually because the prefix "bi" can mean two and twice. Semiannually is a synonym that offers clarity.

biennially—every two years.

bicentennial—see anniversaries.

BioQUEST Curriculum Consortium—a national learning laboratory, based at Beloit College, for curriculum development in the biological sciences to help students learn long-term research strategies. The acronym stands for Quality Undergraduate Educational Simulations and Tools in Biology.

black—This term is OK but consider using African-American or Jamaican-American, for example. Other terms might also be be appropriate: minority, underrepresented group, ethnic minority, ethnic group.

Black Information Center—This construction may seem to refer to a minority group; instead, use Richard Black Information Center; see library and appendix.

Black Students United—special-interest group known as BSU.

Blaisdell conference room (not a formal name)—in Blaisdell Hall. see appendix.

Blaisdell Guest House (a.k.a. the Guest House)—College-owned apartments and guest rooms, located at the corner of Chapin and College streets. See appendix.

Blue Circle—gift club of $250 to $499 annually.

board of trustees—In prose, use lower case. For more formal and promotional text, capitalization may be considered. Individual trustees may be referred to using the rules under "titles": Trustee John Smith or John Smith, a trustee of the College.

New trustees are elected by the current board of trustees to serve three-year terms, which may be repeated.

Life trustees are regular trustees who have served not less than six years and have attained the age of 70 while serving on the board and who the board chose to honor for their distinguished service. Life trustees hold nonvoting positions.

Alumni trustees are often recommended by the alumni association to the nominating committee of the board of trustees and serve a single three-year term.

books—Italicize names; see titles, composition.

bookstore—see Turtle Creek.

Breeze Cafe—no longer exists; space is now the TV lounge in Pearsons Hall. Java Joint now serves the purpose that the Breeze Cafe once did. See appendix.

Brown House—usually an off-campus college-owned residence; Voces Latinas occupies the 721 Emerson Street side, while the Anthropology House occupies the 804 Church Street location.

BSFFA (pronounced Bissfa)—Beloit Science Fiction and Fantasy Association; has its own tower in Wood Hall. See appendix.

BSU—Black Students United, a special-interest group.

Buccaneers—Bucs, for short, on subsequent references. Use of Lady Bucs is outdated; instead, refer to the Buccaneers women's basketball team, for example, or the Buccaneer (no "s") women. Plural construction is optional when used as an adjective.

Buckley Amendment—a.k.a. the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974. It means that the College cannot release information about a student to anyone, even parents, without the student's permission.

Buffaloes—retired faculty and staff who meet frequently for conversation in Weeks Lounge.

buildings and rooms—see individual entries or appendix.

cable-access channel—Beloit Access Television, channel 12.

campaign—Capitalize this when referring to the full and proper title of a major fundraising drive, such as the Comprehensive Campaign; use "the campaign" (lower case) in subsequent references.

Campbell Hall—built in 1854 and originally called North College. See appendix.

Campbell Plaza—This is the formal name of the quadrangle in front of Middle College; reference to Red Square should be avoided in publications.

Campus and Community Outreach Center (CCOC)—a.k.a. Outreach Center; on second floor of 726 Church St.; connects campus to community through community service (pairs students with community organizations; organizes and runs an after-school tutoring program for Beloit-area children; and organizes weekend community service projects for groups of students). see appendix.

campus center—see Pearsons Hall and appendix.

CAP—acronym for comprehensive academic plan. In fall 2006, the name was changed to My Academic Plan (MAP). The new name pertains to students from the class of 2010 and onward.

capitalization—Beloit College style is to capitalize any reference to the College, names of professorships, buildings, particular offices, and rooms with names, certain special-interest programs (such as Sophomore-Year Initiatives Program) and most Beloit College-specific events and programming (such as Beloit Fund, Homecoming/Reunion Weekend, Spring Day, Student Symposium, Commencement). In prose, do not capitalize names of academic departments/programs. Formal names of committees and clubs should be capitalized (casual and abbreviated names should be in lower case). see also: individual listings, colon, and headlines.

captions—Identify people in photos using these guidelines: With few people, insert (left), (right), (center) into sentence, using parentheses. With many people, it works best to say (from left) or (front row, from left). Then, subsequent rows need not indicate direction, since a pattern has been established. Try to avoid making the explanatory notes part of the sentence—keep them in parentheses.

catalog

CCAC—Cultural and Community Affairs Committee of the Academic Senate.

CCOC—Campus and Community Outreach Center; a.k.a. Outreach Center.

CD—no periods when used for compact disk or certificate of deposit.

CD-ROM—Note use of hyphen and all caps (acronym for read-only memory).

CELEB—The Center for Entrepreneurship in Liberal Education at Beloit, located at 437-439 E. Grand Ave., contains physical space and resources from which students can launch ventures of their own design. The center contains the student Ventures Lab, funded by the Coleman Foundation, and the Myers Institute for the Art of Business and the Business of Art, funded by David Myers'49, which features Gallery ABBA, an art gallery run by students. CELEB also features a recording studio and computerized suites for film and video editing, sound editing and effects, musical composition, computer-generated art and a cable access television station.

centennial—see anniversaries.

Center for Language Studies (CLS)—Beloit's summertime intensive language program offers instruction (depending on enrollment) in Arabic, Chinese, Czech, Hungarian, Japanese, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Turkish, and advanced English as a second language.

Center for the Sciences—the name of Beloit College's new teaching facility for the sciences which will replace Chamberlin Hall. Ground-breaking is scheduled for spring 2007, with completion planned for the fall of 2008. The building will be designed by the architects Holabird and Root and will be an environmentally stustainable, green building with LEED certification by the U.S. Green Buildings Council. See LEED entry.

century—Generally, do not capitalize it (the 19th century or 19th-century architecture), except when part of a proper name or title (Century 21 Realty; Life of the 21st Century by John Smith). Only hyphenate when the century forms a compound modifier.

chair—Beloit's board of trustees and academic departments have a chair, not a chairman. Use chair to avoid gender bias. (Note that some exceptions may exist whereby a person's official title is chairman or chairwoman.)

chairs, endowed—chair and professorship are generally interchangeable; chair and professor are not. A professor who holds the chair IN a discipline should be referred to as the professor OF the discipline, keeping the name of the chair capitalized, even in shortened, casual references: John Smith, Hales Family Distinguished Professor of Ethics, led the discussion, or John Smith is the Hales Family Distinguished Professor of Ethics or John Smith is the Hales Professor or John Smith holds the Hales Chair in Ethics.

Beloit's 19 chairs, as of Nov. 2006 : Allen-Bradley Chair in Economics, Brannon-Ballard Chair in Sociology (the person's title is Brannon-Ballard Junior Chair in Sociology), Coleman Foundation Chair in Entrepreneurship, George Russell Corlis Chair in History, Dobson Endowed Professorship in Physics, Godfrey Chair in Anthropology, Hales Family Chair in Ethics, Gayle and William Keefer Chair in the Humanities, Kohnstamm Chair in Chemistry, Lois Wilson Mackey'45 Memorial Chair in Creative Writing, Manger Family Chair in International Relations, Mead Family Chair in the Sciences, Moore Chair in Modern Languages, Mouat Chair for Junior Faculty in International Studies (person's title is Mouat Junior Professor of International Studies), Dr. Richard K. and Gloria I. Nystrom Fine Arts Professorial Chair in Art History, Peterson Chair, Robert H. and Jane Solem Chair in the Natural Sciences, Shogren Family Conductorship, Thomas F. White Chair in Computer Sciences.

chairholders—People appointed to chairs or professorships are called professors, not chairs

Chamberlin Hall (of Science)—home to the science departments (biology, chemistry, geology, and physics and astronomy), the mathematics and computer science department, Thompson Observatory, and Wood Conservatory. This is joined with Mayer Hall, but the two buildings maintain distinct identities. Chamberlin Hall of Science is preferred reference for admissions publications. See appendix.

Chamberlin Springs—50-acre tract of woodland northwest of the city; used as a research and recreational area. See appendix.

Chanukah—Use Hanukkah instead.

chapel—Capitalize only when using its proper name: Eaton Chapel.

Chapin Hall—residence hall featuring Commons, which is the student dining hall; BELWAH is painted on the roof; Presidents Lounge and 24-hour computer lab are housed here. See appendix.

Chapin House—Use President's House instead.

Chapin Society—As a gift club, it includes donors who have given an annual gift of $1,000 or more which includes the following levels: Members Circle ($1,000 to $2,499); Sponsors Circle ($2,500 to $4,999); Presidents Circle ($5,000 to $9,999); Benefactors Circle ($10,000 to $24,999); and Founders Circle ($25,000 and over).

charter—See religious affiliation.

Charter Day—See Founders Day.

C-Haus—common reference to the Coughy Haus, a student night spot (first floor welcomes all ages; lower level is a pub). see appendix.

Chelonia Dance Company / Chelonia dance concert (or just Chelonia)—held each spring; showcases choreography and dance talents of students, many of whom are pursuing other majors.

ChemLinks Coalition—a consortium of leading liberal arts colleges and research universities directed by Beloit chemistry professor Brock Spencer to develop modular course materials that will change the way students learn chemistry and increase scientific literacy among chemistry majors, members of groups traditionally underrepresented in science, non-science majors, those taking chemistry as a supporting course, and participants in teacher-preparation programs.

city of _____—In prose, do not capitalize "city."

classes—In prose, do not capitalize, even when referring to specific classes. (Examples: the class of 1989, or class of '89; 50th reunion class); see also alumni, class years.

CLS—see Center for Language Studies.

Classic. Daring. Life-Changing.—The name of Beloit College's five-year $100 million comprehensive fund-raising campaign. Note the periods and single space that exist between each word. Always italicize. If the word campaign follows the proper title, put it in lower case. The campaign was launched in April, 2006.

coach—Generally, this is an occupational description and not a formal title. However, when it is used as a courtesy title on subsequent reference, it should be capitalized. See titles.

co-curricular—Use this instead of extracurricular when talking about campus living and learning activities.

Codex—former name of the Beloit yearbook, now called the Gold.

College—Capitalize in isolation only when referring specifically to Beloit College. (Example: The College has two fine museums.)

College colors—blue and gold

For printed publications that utilize the College's official College colors:

Blue: PMS 295, also known as "Beloit Blue." A brighter blue—PMS 294, also known as "Liberty Blue"—may also be used.
Gold: PMS 131

College Park Historic District—includes Beloit College and its neighborhood to the east.

colon—Capitalize the first letter after a colon if the clause that follows forms a complete sentence. Exceptions: titles of papers, articles, chapters, and books, where the first word after colons will always be capitalized. Colons will usually go outside of quotation marks, but depend on their use.

Commencement—Capitalize when referring specifically to Beloit College's graduation ceremony.

commas—Materials for Beloit College constituencies should follow the academic and other style guidelines below. Commas (and periods) always go inside quotation marks.

ITEMS IN A SERIES: Use a comma before the last item in a series. (Examples: We colored it red, gold, and blue. They evaluated professors of chemistry, geology, and mathematics and computer science. The grant will fund six faculty seminars, a series on prominent policymakers in international relations, and the development of a self-instructional language program.)
For press releases, however, the general rule is to avoid commas when possible: before "and" in a series, unless needed for clarity; before "Jr.," "Sr." and "III," etc. in people's names, and before "Inc.," "Ltd.," etc. in company names.
class years: No commas (or spaces) are needed to separate a name from a class-year designation. (Example: John Doe'58 gave a presentation.)
DATES: When using more than one identifier for a date, use commas to separate days, dates, and years. Note that a month alone (no date) does not need a comma between it and the year. (Examples: His presentation on Saturday, Jan. 14, was most informative. The event was held in January 1997. We set the next meeting for July 14, 1997, in Tampa.)
CITY/STATE: Use pairs of commas to separate cities from states. (Examples: John Smith of St. Paul, Minn., won the award. The award winners include Bea Baylor, Beloit, Wis.; Jenny Jones, Fort Smith, Ark.; Sam Smith, Rockford, Ill.; and Wayne World, Portland, Ore. The Minnesota band is here. The St. Paul, Minn., band is here.)
NUMBERS: Use a comma for most four-digit figures that reflect an actual count of things such as money and people (1,345 applicants). Exceptions include street addresses, broadcast frequencies, room numbers, serial numbers, and calendar years.
ENDINGS ON PERSONAL and BUSINESS NAMES: Use commas before Sr., Jr., III, Inc., Ltd., etc., except when writing for the press.

Commons—the student dining hall, located in Chapin Hall. See appendix.

Community Action—day care center on campus, in the Hull-Dyson Center.

company—Generally, capitalize and abbreviate (Co.) when part of a company's name, but exceptions may be made.

composition titles—see titles.

comprehensive academic plan—abbreviated as CAP. As of fall 2006, this was changed to "My Academic Plan" (MAP).

convocation—Generally, use lower case in prose (ex: fall convocation). The College has several convocations each year. See also Honors Day convocation.

copyright symbol ©—Mac users get this by typing option-g

corporate officers—Different from senior staff, this group is designated by the board of trustees and includes: the College president, the five vice presidents, and the secretary of the College.

corporation—Generally, capitalize and abbreviate (Corp.) when part of a company's official title, but exceptions may be made.

Coughy Haus (C-Haus)—student nightclub on campus. See appendix.

Counseling Center—in Porter Hall. See appendix.

course load

course titles—see titles.

courtesy titles—see titles, subsequent reference.

dates—Abbreviate months in prose according to AP style; see commas.

dash—Use a long dash (or em dash) with no spaces between the dash and the words. (The two-hyphen construction died with typewriters.) This is the preferred typesetting/publishing method.

Davis lecture / Harry Davis lecture—an endowed lectureship in honor of Harry R. Davis, government professor from 1948 to 1990. This annual guest lecture focuses on the philosophy and practice of political science.

day care—two words. When used as a compound adjective (day care center), do not hyphenate it; one could argue that each modifier could stand alone and that the connection between the words is clear without a hyphen.

dean of the College/academic dean—a.k.a. vice president for academic affairs; see vice presidents.

Dean of students—a.k.a. vice president for student affairs; see vice presidents.

decades—ex: the 1970s; the '70s (no apostrophe before "s").

decision making / decision-making—two words as a noun; hyphenated as a compound adjective (decision-making abilities).

departments, academic (see also programs)—In prose, use lower-case letters for all references, both formal and informal. This obviously does not apply to languages that must be capitalized. (Example: English department, department of anthropology, and anthropology department)

Beloit College's 19 academic departments: anthropology; art and art history; biology; chemistry; classics; economics and management; education and youth studies; English; geology; history; mathematics and computer science; modern languages and literatures; music; philosophy and religious studies; physics and astronomy; political science and international relations; psychology; sociology; theatre arts.

departments, non-academic (a.k.a. offices)—In prose, generally capitalize references to particular offices, both formal and informal. (Example: Office of Admissions and Admissions Office) Some departments may not have official titles or may be more of a place with a specific function than a properly named office (bookstore, library, mail center, print shop); these should use lower-case letters.

Please note that media prefer lower case in almost every instance.

Beloit College's nonacademic offices: Accounting Office; Administration Office (under the vice president for administration and treasurer of the College); Admissions (vice president for enrollment services); Alumni Affairs Office (or Alumni Office, under the vice president for external affairs in the Office of External Affairs); Athletics Office; Archives; bookstore; Dean's Office (vice president for academic affairs); Dean of Students Office (vice president for student affairs); Development and Gift Planning Office (or just Development, under the vice president for external affairs in the Office of External Affairs); Field and Career Services; Financial Aid Office; food service; Health Center; Human Resources Office; Information Services and Resources (ISR); Institutional Research Office; Office of International Education; library (Col. Robert H. Morse Library and Richard Black Information Center); mail center; museums (Logan Museum of Anthropology and Wright Museum of Art); Physical Plant Office; President's Office; print shop; Public Affairs Office; Registrar's Office; Residential Life Office; Secretarial Services; Security and Safety Office; Student Activities Office.

dialogue

disabilities—Be sensitive but not silly. Talk about impairments (hearing, vision, etc.) when possible. People who cannot walk are disabled, not handicapped, and buildings that accommodate them are, simply, accessible. Avoid constructions like "the disabled." "People with disabilities" is better.

disk—not disc; exception: disc jockey.

Distinguished Service Citations (DSCs)—the highest honor awarded by the Beloit College Alumni Association.

D.K.'s Snack Bar—in Pearsons Hall. See appendix. dorm/dormitory—Use residence hall instead. See appendix for list. dos and don'ts Dr.—reserved for medical doctors and dentists, not people with doctorates; used before the name and capitalized: Dr. Ted Smith performed the surgery. When mentioning that a person has a doctor of medicine or doctor of dental surgery degree, use M.D. degree and D.D.S. degree.

Beloit College Duffy Community Partnerships program—an internship program for students in which they first complete the Leadership Institute, then work on a project driven by a community need. It is administered by the sociology department.

e-classroom—formerly known as "smart" classroom. The "e" stands for "electronic" (note lower case). Use it to designate classrooms that are enhanced with electronic media and equipment. E-classrooms are in Chamberlin, Aldrich, Chapin halls and in the World Affairs Center.

Eaton Chapel—dedicated in 1892; includes the Miles Music Center on the lower level and the Kwok classroom on the main floor. Call it the chapel (lower case) in subsequent references. See appendix.

EDP—former name of the Academic Achievement Programs.

ellipsis (...)—Use three dots (no spaces between them, but a space on each side) to signify that something has been left out of a direct quote or that the writer is leaping from one topic to another. A complete sentence will have its own period, followed by a space, then the three dots, space and next sentence.

email—no hyphen, small "e"; capital "e" may be used to start a sentence or a line in a block of formatted type. In prose, make addresses stand out by putting them in italics, and try to avoid having them followed immediately by punctuation marks.

emeritus—an honor earned (not automatic), usually upon retirement. Conforming to the rules of Latin, use this descriptor after the title. (Examples: Single person, by gender and placement: Professor Emeritus John Doe; President Emerita Martha Peterson; Jane Doe, professor emerita) Multiples by gender: professors emeriti (for all men or mixed group); professors emeritae (for all women). Reference to all the faculty and staff who hold emeritus status is, simply, "the emeriti."

Emerson Hall—Once a campus residence, this building is now called Emerson Hall Apartments and is leased on a long-term contract. See appendix.

English as a second language—Capitalize only English, but acronym is ESL.

EPRUS—Ecumenical Program for Rural and Urban Service; the part of AmeriCorps that is sponsored by the National Council of Churches.

ESL—acronym for English as a second language.

Eta Sigma Phi—national honorary scholastic society for students of the classics.

extension—For telephone numbers, use "ext." followed by a space and the four-digit number.

External Affairs, Office of—Capitalize this division's name; composed of Alumni Affairs, the Office of Development (which deals mostly with larger gifts from individuals and organizations), and the Office of Public Affairs.

extracurricular—see CO-curricular

ezine—Depending on the audience, it might be wise to spell out the first reference to "electronic magazine."

Faces@Beloit—an online collection of new student photographs available on campus computers. It was once known as the "mug book."

faculty—When used alone, treat it as a singular noun (our faculty is the best). When referring to the people who make up the faculty, say "faculty members."

Faculty Resource Room—multimedia lab run by ISR in Mayer Hall room 219 to train faculty in the use of computer technology for teaching. See appendix.

fair market value—no hyphen because the noun is "market value."

fall break—Use midterm break instead.

fall convocation

fall semester

Family & Friends Weekend—Capitalize. This event, held in the fall, no longer uses the word Parents'.

fax—Use lower-case letters (or capitalize the first letter if starting a sentence or line of formatted text with it). Do not use all caps.

Victor E. Ferrall, Jr. Endowed Artists-in-Residence Program—brings an artist to campus annually. It is named for Beloit's ninth president.

fiber-optic network—also known as fiber optics and the fiber-optic computer network (note hyphen when used as compound adjective).

Field House—the original part of the Beloit College Sports Center, with the indoor track; formal name is Marvin Field House.

fireplace lounge—Instead, call it the M-I lounge (generic, therefore lower case); it is on the second floor of Morse-Ingersoll Hall.

first-year student—Use this instead of freshman.

First-Year Initiatives (FYI) Program—Note hyphen and plural. Interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary courses during fall semester that acclimate new students to college life, academically and otherwise. The use of "Program" is optional, but when used, it should be capitalized so it's parallel with Sophomore-Year Initiatives Program.

fishing bridge—see Wood Family Fishing Bridge.

Flood Arena—the basketball/volleyball area of the Sports Center. See appendix.

Folk 'n' Blues Festival—two apostrophes (both facing the same way) to replace two lost letters in "and." Student-organized two-day festival in early fall.

foreign words—Italicize those that are not common English expressions. Many previously foreign words are now accepted as part of the English language and should not be italicized, such as alma mater, rendezvous, spiel.

Founders Day—Beloit College received its charter on Feb. 2, 1846. Classes began Nov. 4, 1847. Carroll College was the first college in Wisconsin to receive a charter, but Beloit College has been in longer continuous academic service. Carroll's current charter is not the same as its original, which was dated January 31, 1846, and instruction was suspended several times during its early history.

Founders Circle—a gift club level within the Chapin Society ($25,000 or more annually).

fractions—see numbers.

freshman/men—Use first-year student(s) instead.

Frisbee and Frisbee golf—Capitalize the trademark name of a flying disk.

FS&P—Faculty Status and Performance Committee of the Academic Senate.

Fulbright Program—The two main categories for U.S. applicants/recipients of these awards for international educational exchange are the Fulbright Student Program (for graduating seniors, young professionals, artists, and graduate students) and the Fulbright Scholar Program (for faculty and professionals).

Faculty and professional recipients are called Fulbright Scholars, a term that is often erroneously used for students. (FYI: Most other student scholarship programs refer to students as scholars.)
Recipients of the Student Program awards do not have a formal reference. Instead, simply say the person is a Fulbright student, a Fulbright award-winner, was awarded a Fulbright grant, or received a Fulbright award.
The programs are administered by the Institute of International Education.

fund-raiser

fund raising / fund-raising—two words as noun; (I work in fund raising.) hyphenated as adjective. (a fund-raising event)

gender—Be non-specific when possible without creating cumbersome forms. Examples: staff tend the phones (not man the phones), chair (not chairman or -woman, unless that's part of the official title for that person), spokesperson, sales representative, business owner/entrepreneur/retailer, etc., actor (may be used for both genders), master of ceremonies (may be used for both genders); firefighter, police officer; fellow as adjective (fellow alumni) may refer to both genders.

gift clubs—see Belwah Circle, Blue Circle, Gold Circle, and Chapin levels: Members Circle, Sponsors Circle, Presidents Circle, Benefactors Circle and Founders Circle.

Stuart Ginsberg Endowed Artists-in-Residence Program—established with a gift of Stuart Ginsberg'82 to bring distinguished individuals or groups to campus to teach, conduct workshops, or perform/exhibit works.

Girls and Women in Science program—Beloit College students organize this annual weekend event mixing sixth-grade girls, their parents, teachers, and Beloit College science students (mostly female) in problem solving and active science investigations on campus. The word "program" is optional.

GIS Lab—The acronym stands for geographic information systems. The GIS Lab is in Chamberlin Hall.

Godfrey Anthropology Building—does not include the Logan Museum, just the classroom and office section of the newer building. See appendix.

Gold, the—Beloit College yearbook.

Gold Circle—gift club of $500 to $999 annually.

Gold Key—campus host and tour program of the Admissions Office.

Golden Hoods—See Order of the Golden Hoods.

The Gottschall site—a sandstone rock shelter containing ancient pictographs and sculpture in southwestern Wisconsin, managed by Professor Emeritus Robert Salzer, but not a Beloit College program.

GPA / grade point average—no hyphen because the noun is "point average." Acronym is GPA (no periods).

Greek letters—Mac users: get delta with option-j; get epsilon with option-w; get omega with option-z

greenhouse—Wood Conservatory. See appendix.

Guest House—Capitalize this reference to the Blaisdell Guest House (sometimes called the Beloit College Guest House). Located on the corner of College and Chapin streets, it features three apartments for short-term rent. Its original name was Blaisdell House. See appendix.

Hales Gallery—gallery for student art exhibitions; always tell the reader it's in Pearsons Hall. See appendix.

Hall of Flags—central lounge in the World Affairs Center. See appendix.

Hancock Field—see Strong Stadium Athletic Complex and appendix.

handicaps—see disabilities.

Hanukkah—This spelling is preferred over Chanukah.

headlines—Capitalize the first letter of important words in a headline, including multiple words in a hyphenated construction (Example: Fundraising Goal Achieved in Nick of Time) When using quotation marks in headlines, use single marks instead of double. Shortcuts, such as numerals and %, are acceptable.

health care—two words. When used as a compound adjective (health care provider), do not hyphenate it; one could argue that each modifier could stand alone and that the connection between the words is clear without a hyphen.

Health Center—in Porter Hall. May be capitalized for on-campus publications but one could argue that it is generic enough to be lower case. See appendix.

Health Professions Advisory Committee—faculty, alumni, and area health professionals who offer fresh educational insight and shadowing opportunities.

Help Yourself—This is the umbrella organization of Beloit Academy (for grades 4-7) and the Pre-Collegiate Program (grades 8-12). Help Yourself provides after-school and summer learning opportunities for Beloit-area youth. The word "program" (lower case) is optional. See appendix.

Heritage Society—This gift club recognizes people who make deferred gifts to the College—those that will benefit Beloit in the future.

HHMI—Howard Hughes Medical Institute.

Highbeams—student-edited online literary journal at www.beloit.edu/~highbe/

high-tech (adjective)

Hispanic—a person whose ancestors come from Spain. See Latino.

historic—When preceded by an article, use "an" (an historic day).

Historic Places, National Register of

holidays and holy days—Capitalize official well-known celebrations. (Examples: Christmas Day, Fourth of July, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Valentine's Day)

Homecoming/Reunion Weekend—This formal reference is preferred, using capitalization and slash. When talking just about Homecoming, capitalize it as long as it refers specifically to Beloit's event.

home page—two words.

honorary degrees—LL.D. degree is the Doctor of Laws degree, and L.H.D. degree is Doctor of Humane Letters degree. Try to be explicit in the text that these are honorary degrees.

Honorary Alumni Award—given by the Beloit College Alumni Association in honor of service to the College and the Alumni Association.

honorifics—see titles, subsequent reference.

honors term—outstanding students may apply for Honors Term Scholar Awards and Honors Term Service Awards to continue their study for an additional term beyond graduation.

Honors Day convocation—a spring event to award academic honors. In prose, do not capitalize "convocation."

Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI)—a medical research foundation based in Chevy Chase, Md.

Howard Hughes Medical Institute Young Scholars Project—offers six-week research projects to incoming science students to work on with Beloit faculty during the summer before the students' first year at the College.

Hull-Dyson Center—house near the library currently used for Cradle Care day care center and Beloit Janesville Symphony Orchestra offices. See appendix.

Human Resources Office—Note plural. See appendix.

ID—Do not use periods when referring to identification. (plural: IDs)

ISR—on-campus reference to the Information Services and Resources Division.

ISR Training Center—located on the second floor of Mayer Hall, features a faculty resource room used for curriculum development.

incorporated—Capitalize and spell out or abbreviate (Inc.) according to a company's official title. If that's unclear, abbreviate. Precede with a comma except when writing for the press. See commas.

Indian—Use a descriptor, such as North American, unless referring to someone from India. Native American is also suggested.

Indian mounds—Use Indian when referring to the mounds on campus. Built between A.D. 500 and A.D. 1000 by Woodland Indians, the 23 mounds on campus are conical, linear, and effigy-shaped.

initials—Use periods and no space between initial letters of someone's name

innercity—no hyphen.

International Education—an umbrella term that encompasses study abroad, exchange programs, some campus programming, and the Center for Language Studies (the former term was World Outlook Program.)

International Education Week—A national event observed by Colleges across the United States. Beloit observes it through a week-long series of activities and events.

International Performing Arts & Lecture Series (IPALS)—Spell out on first reference. Note the ampersand in the official name.

International Student Symposium—held for the first time in Nov. 2002, an annual event fashioned after Symposium Day, but focusing on students' international experiences.

Internet—Reference to the Net is also acceptable.

intramural sports/intramurals

J.D.—Doctor of Jurisprudence degree (both earned and honorary)

Jeffris-Wood Campus Center—may also be referred to as the campus center; see Pearsons Hall. See appendix.

Jr., III, etc.—Abbreviate and capitalize when part of someone's name; precede by a comma except when writing for the press. See commas.

Phee Boon Kang'73 Prize for Innovation in Teaching with Technology—Recognition that is awarded to a Beloit College faculty member for enlisting technology in their teaching. It is named for Phee Boon Kang'73, a College trustee and the co-founder of the Allard Institute.

Kappa Gamma Lambda—sorority. See appendix.

Karris Field—built in 1997 for intercollegiate practice area and intramural sports; at north end of campus across Woodward Avenue. See appendix.

Keck Geology Consortium—12 colleges committed to undergraduate education in geology through intercollegiate programs that engage students and faculty in cooperative research. Among its founders was Beloit College Professor Emeritus Hank Woodard.

Keefer and Keefer lecture—a campus-wide lecture given once each semester by the William and Gayle Keefer Professor of the Humanities.

Kemper Lab—computer lab in Campbell Hall, mainly for economics and management courses. See appendix.

Koehler Room—a meeting space in Chapin Hall. See appendix.

Kwanzaa—midwinter African-American celebration.

Kwok classroom—music classroom on the main level of Eaton Chapel. See appendix.

Lathrop Herbarium—room on second floor of Chamberlin Hall housing mineralogical and botanical collections, many of which were part of the original College cabinet for the teaching of the sciences, including anthropology. See appendix.

Latino/Latina—refers to a person (based on gender) whose ancestors come from Latin America. Latino-American is the common reference (regardless of gender) to U.S. citizens from Latin America.

Learning Support Services Center—an academic enrichment center, which offers tutoring services and resources to Beloit students, and support services and accommodations for students with disabilities. Located at at 635 College Street. See appendix.

Leadership Initiative for Beloit College [formerly the Leadership Institute] —identifies and trains student-leaders interested in business and community development. Seminars are held after the academic year ends in spring. The program is directed by a faculty member in the sociology department.

LEED—Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, a voluntary rating system that sets standards for developing high-performance sustainable buildings, developed by the U.S. Green Building Council.

Legal Professions Advisory Committee Lexis-Nexis—an online database used for searching periodicals.

L.H.D.—Doctor of Humane Letters degree. Try to be explicit in the text that this is an honorary degree: He received the honorary L.H.D. Degree

liberal arts and sciences college—This wording is preferred to reinforce the idea that our liberal arts college includes strong science programs.

library—Use lower case in generic use and when speaking of the Beloit College library. Formal title—the Col. Robert H. Morse Library and Richard Black Information Center—should be used in formal presentations and in fundraising materials. It may also be referred to as the Morse Library and Richard Black Information Center (Black's full name is used to avoid its looking like an ethnic place). The library also houses the Beloit College Archives.

Life Chapin—Before 1981, this honorary gift club membership was awarded to some donors because of their special generosity.

lifelong life trustee—see board of trustees.

limnology lab—see Smith Limnology Lab. See appendix.

LL.D.—Doctor of Laws degree. Try to be explicit in the text that this is an honorary degree.

Logan Explorations Program—an outreach program for children held in the Logan Museum of Anthropology.

Logan Museum of Anthropology—Logan Museum (or the museum) on second reference; never Logan Anthropology Museum; housed in Memorial Hall. See appendix.

logos, College-wide— Beloit College logotype must be represented on all Beloit College materials. (font: New Baskerville) Official colors:

Blue: PMS 295, a.k.a. Beloit Blue; a brighter blue may also be used: PMS 294, a.k.a. Liberty Blue. Gold: PMS 131 (though this is rarely used today).

College seal: use when requested to achieve an official or academic look.
College crest: use upon request to achieve an official or academic look.
turtle surrounded by "Beloit College": use as desired.
plain turtle: use as desired.
(However, this is a must-use for Beloit College Press.)
Buccaneer: use for intercollegiate sports-related materials.

longtime—one word as an adjective.

low-tech (adjective)

LRPC—Long-Range Planning Committee of the Academic Senate.

Marshall Scholarship—Marshall Scholars are chosen from a national pool of students to live and study at a British university. Selection is based in part on their potential for contributing to society.

Marvin Field House—the original part of the Sports Center, with the indoor track. Use this formal name in official presentations and fundraising materials; otherwise, reference to the Field House may be used. See appendix.

master—Use for both sexes; mistress is outmoded and has bad connotation.

Master Calendar—Capitalize when referring to Beloit College's master listing of events.

mathematical symbols—Mac users: get µ with option-m; for ?, use option-=; get p with option-p; get v with option-v; get ˜ with option-x; get ÷ using option-slash; get 8 using option-5; get = using option-comma; get = using option-period.

Mathers Room A & B—large conference rooms in Pearsons Hall; always list with the building name. (Example: Mathers Room A in Pearsons Hall) see appendix.

Mayer Hall—correctly said "my-er" as in Oscar Mayer foods, even though most people say "may-er"; connected to but not part of Chamberlin Hall; includes the ISR Training Center, Morgan Room, Ruth E.C. Peterson International Conference Center, Wilson Theatre, and Wood Room. See appendix.

MCC—see Multi-Cultural Center.

McNair Program—see Academic Achievement Programs.

Mead Room—small conference room in Pearsons Hall; always list with the building name. See appendix.

Members Circle—a gift club level within the Chapin Society ($1,000 to $2,499 annually).

Memorial Hall—more commonly referred to as the Logan Museum of Anthropology; for older audiences, it might be well to use both: Logan Museum of Anthropology in Memorial Hall. See appendix.

M-I lounge—Often referred to as the fireplace lounge (but use M-I lounge instead), it is on the second floor of Morse-Ingersoll Hall. See appendix.

mid—no hyphen when used as prefix, unless it precedes a capital letter or numerical figure.

Middle College—built in 1847; main administration building, housing the offices of the president (President's Office), vice president for academic affairs (Dean's Office), and vice presidents for administration (Office of Administration), and enrollment services (Office of Admissions). The vice president for external affairs is in the Alumni House (613 College Street) and the vice president for student affairs and the dean of students (Dean of Students Office) is in Pearsons Hall. See appendix.

midnight—Use this rather than 12 a.m. to avoid confusion.

midterm—For midsemester breaks, use midterm break for the one that occurs in autumn; spring break is more commonly used for the other.

Midwest—All regions should be capitalized (the Northeast, the South).

Miles Music Center—the lower level of Eaton Chapel, featuring music offices and private rehearsal areas. Always tell the reader it's in Eaton Chapel. See appendix.

Minority Scholars and Academic Careers Program—an ACM program that matches students with faculty mentors for summer research projects.

money—Use numerals. When forming a compound adjective, use a hyphen. (Examples: He gave $50. His gift was $1 million (simple nouns). He presented a $1-million gift (compound adjective). The year-end total was nearly $1.5 million.) The decimal system (taken out 1,2 or 3 places) is usually preferred for numbers above $1 million. (Examples: $1.123 million, or better yet: more than $1.1 million, nearly $1.2 million) (Symbols: ¢ = option-4; £ = option-3; ¥ = option-y)

months—Capitalize the names of months in all uses. When a month is used with a specific date abbreviate only Jan., Feb., Aug., Sept., Oct., Nov., Dec.

Moore Lounge—main area on the second floor of Pearsons Hall; always list with building name. (Please note the intentional absence of the word "Study.") See appendix.

Moore Hall—a 12-unit townhouse residence hall with apartment-style units for 48 students. Built in 2002, it is located at the northernmost edge of campus, behind Chapin Hall. See appendix

Morse Library—see library and appendix.

Morse-Ingersoll Hall (M-I)—a major classroom building constructed in 1931; includes Richardson Auditorium and a lounge on the second floor (M-I lounge is the preferred generic name, though it is also referred to as the fireplace lounge). see appendix.

Mortar Board—honor society of senior students chosen for excellence in scholarship, campus leadership, and service to the College.

mortarboard—the cap worn at Commencement.

Mounds—see Indian mounds.

mug book—see Faces@Beloit.

Multi-Cultural Center (MCC)—on lower level of the student residence at 609 Emerson. See appendix.

multidisciplinary—no hyphen; refers to three or more disciplines.

multimedia—no hyphen.

museums—Generally, use lower case when talking generically about the College's two museums. Capitalize when talking specifically about the Logan Museum of Anthropology and Wright Museum of Art, both referred to as "the museum" in subsequent reference. "Beloit College Museums" (upper case) as one entity may occasionally be used for promotional purposes. See appendix.

Music at Eaton Chapel series—a series of faculty and staff concerts; events sometimes occur somewhere other than Eaton Chapel, so the word "series" becomes necessary even though not part of the official name.

My Academic Plan (MAP)—the name of the document students complete as part of the Sophomore-Year Intitiatives program, which charts their course to graduation. Formerly called Comprehensive Academic Plan.

National Science Foundation Fellowship—NSF Fellows are chosen from a national pool of students for a three-year fellowship.

Native American—also Indian. Include modifier, such as American Indian, and, when possible, be precise and use the name of the tribe. The term Indian should stand alone to refer to the builders of the mounds on campus.

Neese Performing Arts Complex—includes the 300-seat Neese Theatre, the smaller Kresge Theatre, a costume design shop, the Bunge television studio, and other theatre, classroom, and lab facilities. See appendix.

Neese Scholars—top graduates of Help Yourself's Pre-Collegiate Program who are now enrolled at Beloit College.

Newark Road Prairie—32.5 acres of virgin prairie northwest of campus used as an outdoor classroom and laboratory. See appendix.

newspapers—see titles, composition.

New Student Days nicknames—List nicknames, surrounded by quotation marks, only when the formal and preferred names are unexpectedly different. (OK: William "Buzz" Smith; AVOID: William "Bill" Smith)

No.—Use this capitalized abbreviation for number when referring to a position or rank. (Examples: No. 1 city in America; No. 3 choice)

nonfiction nonprofit—no hyphen. Depending on the organization, "not-for-profit" may be preferred. Refer to Beloit College as an independent college (nonprofit for postal purposes).

noon—use this rather than 12 p.m.

north lounge, WAC—Its formal name, the Baldwin Room, is rarely used; north lounge title is descriptive and, therefore, should not be capitalized in prose. See appendix.

NSF—National Science Foundation.

numbers—(see also No.) In general, spell out zero through nine (and first through ninth) and give numerals for 10 and above (10th, etc.). Fractions, such as two-thirds, should be spelled out. If paired with a whole number, use the decimal system: 2.25. Percentages, measurements, GPAs and ages should always be represented by numerals. Headlines: use numerals, even for 1-9.

OK ol'—Use apostrophe (and no "e") when referring casually to "old." offices—see departments, nonacademic

Omicron Delta Kappa—national honorary scholastic society for students of the classics.

online

Order of the Golden Hoods—consists of all Beloit College alumni who graduated at least 50 years ago. Alumni are inducted into the Order at their 50th reunion. The tradition of bestowing a golden hood on alumni began in 1964, when members of the class of 1914 became the first inductees.

Outdoor Environmental Club (OEC)—special-interest group that has its own house. See appendix.

Outreach Center—see Campus and Community Outreach Center. See appendix.

overseas seminars—the word "seminar" is no longer used to describe study abroad programs.

PC lab—a.k.a. Mayer Hall room 222. See appendix.

Pearsons Hall—no apostrophe! Built in 1893 and named after D.K. Pearsons. Use "Jeffris-Wood Campus Center, Pearsons Hall," in official presentations and fundraising materials. Includes the annex (between Mathers and the TV lounge), D.K.'s Snack Bar, Hales Gallery, Java Joint, mail center, computer lab, Mathers Room A and B, Mead Room, Moore Lounge, TV lounge (not called the smoking lounge and no longer the Breeze Cafe), Weeks Lounge, and these offices: Accounting, AAP, Financial Aid, Registrar, Security and Safety, Student Affairs (Student Activities, Residential Life), and various student clubs, including the Round Table and WBCR facilities. See appendix.

people—In general, use this instead of persons. If, however, someone uses persons in a quote or a signed letter, let the author's preference reign.

percent—Spell out the word in text. The % sign may be used in numerical charts and headlines. Percentages should always be represented by a numeral. (Examples: an increase of 4 percent, but a 4-percent increase; HEADLINE: Board Grants 4% raise)

Performing Arts Series—In 1998, the name changed to International Performing Arts & Lecture Series (IPALS).

period—Always place a period inside quotation marks.

periodicals—see titles, composition.

permanent collection—(lower case) refers to accessioned items in both the Wright and the Logan museums.

Pettibone World Affairs Center—see World Affairs Center.

Pew Midstates Science and Mathematics Consortium—composed of nine liberal arts and sciences colleges and two research universities; provides access to research equipment at other member schools and sponsors two undergraduate research symposia each year.

Ph.D.s—Technically, it should read "Ph.D. degrees." Other proper alternatives: doctoral degrees or doctorates.

Phi Beta Kappa—national honorary scholastic society for top students in the senior class.

Phi Psi—common reference to Phi Kappa Psi fraternity. See appendix.

Phi Sigma Iota—international honorary foreign language society for juniors and seniors.

phone numbers—Use a hyphen (not parentheses, slashes, or periods) between the area code and the number; do not include "1" with toll-free number. For campus extensions, use "ext." followed by space and four-digit number.

PKAL—Beloit is a core member of Project Kaleidoscope, a national alliance for the reform of undergraduate science and mathematics education.

p.m./a.m.—Use periods and lower-case letters. (Examples: 8 a.m.; 7:30 p.m.)

Pocket Lint—national literary journal composed of submissions from students both on campus and off.

Poetry Garden—see Beloit Poetry Garden and appendix.

Porter Scholars—top high school students who have been selected to take courses at the College while still in high school.

possessives—Use apostrophe-s after singular and some plural nouns to indicate possession. (Examples: Jim's desk; women's room) When either a singular or plural noun ends in s, use only the apostrophe. (Examples: James' desk; ladies' room)

Pre-Collegiate Program—see Help Yourself program.

president—For Beloit College Magazine articles and other mostly alumni/student publications, the president's full name need not be spelled out in the first reference. First and subsequent references may be made to President Burris. First references to anyone else must include full names and titles. When full reference is required, use President John E. Burris. References to living past presidents (and their spouses) should be as follows: Victor E. Ferrall, Jr. (Linda Smith); Roger H. Hull.

Presidential Scholars / Presidential Scholarships / Presidential Scholars Weekend—These scholarships are the highest merit-based awards offered by the College. Top students from the incoming class must compete for them, including an on-campus interview during one of two weekends in the winter.

Presidents Circle—a gift club level within the Chapin Society ($5,000 to $9,999 annually)

President's House—Use this instead of Chapin House. See appendix.

Presidents Lounge—room in Chapin Hall with portraits of all the former Beloit College presidents. See appendix.

problem solving / problem-solving—two words as a noun; hyphenated as a compound adjective (problem-solving skills).

professor—title generally reserved for tenure-track faculty positions. Do not abbreviate "prof." when used without a name. When introducing a faculty member, use the full academic title, including assistant, associate, adjunct, visiting, etc., as needed, along with the person's name. • Long titles are more easily read after the name and surrounded by commas. (Associate Professor of Psychology John Smith OR John Smith, associate professor of psychology, OR psychology professor Jim Smith—the latter example is lower case because it is simply an adjective, not a formal title; it is also confusing because it does not indicate academic rank, only that he teaches psychology.) • Subsequent references to faculty are by last name, except in captions, where the title Prof. and the name may be used. Capitalization follows titles rules.

professorship—see chairs, endowed.

program names—Capitalize programs that address special interests and have the word "program" in the formal title, such as Sophomore-Year Initiatives program.

programs, academic—As with academic departments, generally use lower case when referring to Beloit's academic programs: American studies, ancient Mediterranean studies, Asian studies, behavioral studies, biochemistry, comparative literature, environmental studies, health care studies, international relations, journalism, Latin American studies, legal studies, linguistics, performing arts, Russian and Soviet studies, science for elementary teaching, women's and gender studies, writing program. (Example: She directs the linguistics program. He works with the health care studies program.)

Psi Chi—national honor society for psychology students.

Public Affairs, Office of—or the more casual Public Affairs Office.

"re-" words— Use hyphen only before words that begin with "e" or those needing clarity, such as re-creation.

re-creation—Use hyphen when referring to "creating again" to avoid confusion with recreation.

Reach—sculpture by O. Verne Shaffer'50 located in front of the Smith Building. The 1965 sculpture presents an encolumned human figure and a bird, the details of which are best viewed from above—a view afforded better by its original location and a viewer's perch on the upper floors of the library. See appendix.

Recognition Party—annual spring event to celebrate faculty and staff achievements. It should not be referred to by its former name: the Book Party.

Red Square—see Campbell Plaza.

registered mark ®—Mac users get this by typing option-r

religious affiliation—Although chartered as a non-sectarian college, Beloit College maintains ties with the Council for Higher Education of the United Church of Christ.

residence halls—Use this instead of dorms; see appendix for list.

Residency programs—Beloit currently has four residencies in place that bring to campus distinguished individuals to teach, conduct workshops and/or perform or exhibit their works: The Victor E. Ferrall, Jr. Endowed Artists-in-Residence; the Stuart Ginsberg Endowed Artists-in-Residence Program; the Lois Wilson Mackey'45 Distinguished Professor of Creative Writing and Poet-in-Residence; and the Weissberg Chair in International Studies (see individual entries for additional information).

resident assistant (RA)—no periods in acronym.

résumé—The original French word has another accent over the first "e" but English pronunciation does not reflect that accent. (Mac users: hit option-e and then e again)

reunions and classes—Do not capitalize. (Examples: 25th reunion class; the class of 1973's 25th reunion)

Rhodes Scholarship—Rhodes Scholars are chosen, in part because of their leadership ability, from a national pool of students for two to three years of graduate study at Oxford University.

Richardson Auditorium—Always tell the reader it's in Morse-Ingersoll Hall. See appendix.

Richardson lecture—an endowed lectureship named in honor of Robert K. "Dickie" Richardson, a Beloit history professor from 1901 to 1947. This annual guest lecture focuses on history.

riverfront

RiverFront Project (Beloit 2020)—Capitalize this way when referring to its proper name.

Rollerblades—Capitalize this brand name for inline skates.

room names—Capitalize formal room names (Mead Room, Mathers A & B, Wood Room, etc.). see appendix.

Room numbers—Do not capitalize the word "room," if used at all (Chamberlin 217 or Chamberlin Hall room 217).

Round Table—Capitalize and italicize only these two words when referring to Beloit's student newspaper. Its office is in Pearsons Hall. Through the years, the presentation of the name varies with the students in charge, sometimes including "The" in the title; for consistency over time in administrative College materials, follow the style listed here.

seasons—Spring, summer, fall, winter are never capitalized in prose, except when starting a sentence.  

semicolon—Used in conjunction with quotation marks, it is usually placed outside of quotation marks.

(Overseas) seminars—now called study abroad programs. Do not use the term seminar.

senior staff—appointed by the College president and including the following positions: the vice president for student affairs, the vice president for academic affairs, the vice president for external affairs, the vice president for enrollment services, the vice president for administration, and the director of the Information Services and Resources Division.

Sr.—Capitalize and abbreviate when part of someone's name; precede by a comma except when writing for the press. See commas.

sesquicentennial—see anniversaries. 

Sigma Chi fraternity

Sigs—common reference to members of the Sigma Chi fraternity.

'64 dorms/residence halls—Blaisdell, Bushnell, Peet, Porter, and Whitney Halls; so called because they were constructed in 1964. Refer to the '64 halls.

SLU—Society for Learning Unlimited. Based at Beloit College, it offers short-term courses (meeting once a week) to members 55 and older in the Beloit area.

socioeconomic

Smith Building—houses the print shop, the Physical Plant Office, and some art department facilities; was once the student union and earlier the gymnasium.

Smith Limnology Lab—1.5 miles north of campus on the Rock River; used for boat storage and aquatic studies. Not the same as the boathouse.

smoking lounge—see TV lounge.

Society for Learning Unlimited (SLU)—Based at Beloit College, it offers short-term courses (meeting once a week) to members 55 and older in the Beloit area.

Sophomore-Year Initiatives program

sophomore retreat—Do not capitalize this event that is part of the Sophomore-Year Initiatives program.

South College—houses psychology department and the Help Yourself program; was once the student union. See appendix.

south lounge in WAC—Its formal name, the Bunge Room, is rarely used; south lounge is a descriptor and, therefore, should not be capitalized in prose. See appendix.

special-interest houses—(note hyphen); see appendix.

Spiritual Life Program—a student-centered program founded at Beloit in 2004, it offers a speakers series, field trips, workshops, and individual counseling. The program also assists students in connecting with communities of faith in the Beloit area, and serves students of diverse faiths and perspectives.

Sponsors Circle—a gift club level within the Chapin Society ($2,500 to $4,999 annually)

Sports Center—features Flood Arena (basketball/volleyball arena), Marvin Field House (Field House), McCleary Dance Studio (dance studio), Porter Training Room (training room, weight room), Kresge Natatorium (pool). see appendix.

spring break—no caps.

Spring Day—an afternoon of music late in the spring semester; capitalize. See capitalization.

stadium—see Strong Stadium and outdoor athletic complex.

staff—When used alone, it's a singular noun (Our staff is well-educated). Say "staff members" when talking about the people who make up the staff. (Our staff members are well-educated.)

state of—not capitalized in prose.

states—Always list cities with states, regardless of Associated Press rules, for the benefit of international readers (Beloit, Wis., however, may be referred to as just Beloit as long as no other Beloit—in Alabama, for instance—may be confused with it). Use AP abbreviations when states accompany a city. (When a state is mentioned alone, spell it out.) Postal abbreviations: When publishing an entire address for readers' mailing purposes, use the two-letter postal abbreviation for states. When inserting a state into a proper noun, such as the South Bend Tribune, put the state in parentheses: South Bend (Ind.) Tribune.

In prose, use commas on both sides of the state when it is listed with a city: We stopped in Boise, Idaho, before heading home.

AP State abbreviations:

TA—no periods for acronym; see teaching assistant.

TKE (pronounced "teek")—Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity. Members are often referred to as TKEs (pronounced "teeks"). see appendix.

task force—two words.

teaching assistant (TA)—no periods for acronym; plural is TAs, or teaching assistants. It might be useful to the readers to say "undergraduate teaching assistant" to avoid confusion with the practice of larger universities of using graduate-student teaching assistants who more or less replace professors.

the—may be capitalized when part of a proper title. (Examples: The New Yorker; the Beloit Daily News)

theatre—This is Beloit's style for all references to proper and general nouns. Beloit College Theatre (not the academic department) is an organization and should be capitalized. The Beloit College theatres, however, are the Neese Theatre and the Kresge Theatre in the Neese Performing Arts Complex.

Theta—common reference to Theta Pi Gamma sorority. See appendix.

Thompson Observatory—Always tell the reader it's in Chamberlin Hall. See appendix.

3-2 cooperative programs—(use hyphen, not slash) These programs in engineering, for example, allow students to attend Beloit for three years of liberal education and then finish a professional degree program at another university.

time—Do not use :00 (Example: 8 p.m.) Official invitations might opt for more formal use of times, including "o'clock"; use noon and midnight rather than 12 p.m. and 12 a.m. to avoid confusion.

titles—Titles before people's names are generally capitalized. (President Bush, Gov. Doyle, Rabbi Levin, Pope Benedict XVII, Queen Elizabeth, Trustee Andy Davis, etc.) Other less formal titles that are strictly occupational descriptions (class agent, reporter, etc.) are not capitalized even when they precede a name.  

BEFORE A NAME: Capitalize a title when it precedes a person's name and is not set off by commas. (Dean Lynn Franken, Assistant Professor Jim Jones, Assistant Professor of History John Jones, President John Burris, Vice President for External Affairs Frank McGovern.) AN EXCEPTION: It was a speech by history professor John Jones—here, "history professor" is simply an occupational descriptor, not a formal title; it's also vague as to his academic status. WHEN SEPARATED BY A COMMA, do not capitalize the job title: The group presented it to the dean, Lynn Franken.)
AFTER A NAME: Do not capitalize titles that are used as descriptive phrases and set off by commas (John Nicholas, vice president for administration, spoke; John Burris, president of Beloit College, spoke). Exception: named professorships. (Jim Smith, Hales Family Professor of Ethics, spoke.)
USED IN ISOLATION: Without names attached, these words become generic nouns and should not be capitalized. (The president gave a speech.)
SUBSEQUENT REFERENCE/ COURTESY TITLES: Beloit College no longer makes use of courtesy titles, or honorifics. Use full name first and last name on second reference. "Dr." is reserved solely for medical doctors and dentists. Students: Use last names on subsequent reference. Coaches: Though considered an occupational title, "coach" may be used as a courtesy title on subsequent reference. He met head football coach Jim Jones. Later, he and Coach Jones ate dinner.
INVITATIONS/ SPECIAL PUBLICATIONS: short, formal blocks of copy may call for total disregard of the above stated rules.
COMPOSITION TITLES:

1. Capitalize the principal words, including prepositions and conjunctions of four or more letters, and capitalize articles and words of fewer than four letters if they are the first or last word in the title. Italicize titles of newspapers, magazines, and books (excluding reference works and the Bible), movies, TV programs, plays, epic poems, operas, albums, exhibit titles, and individual works of art. However, it might also be appropriate to use no special punctuation at all or quotation marks instead. Whichever route is taken should remain consistent in every story throughout the publication.
2. Use quotation marks around the titles of articles, chapters, lectures, movements and dance pieces.
OFFICIAL COURSE TITLES: When talking about a specific class, capitalize it, but do not italicize it. (Biology 101: Anatomy of a Rat; Psychology 210: The Mind of a Serial Killer)

trademark ™—Mac users get this by typing option-2

TRIO programs—Created by the federal government in the mid-1960s to help disadvantaged students complete secondary and post-secondary education. Originally three programs (Upward Bound, Talent Search, and Student Support Services), the TRIO programs now also include Educational Opportunity Centers and the Ronald E. McNair Post-Baccalaureate Achievement Program, also known as McNair Scholars. Beloit College has Upward Bound, Student Support Services, and McNair Scholars. See Academic Achievement Programs.

Truman Scholarship—Truman Scholars, selected from a national pool of students, receive awards for graduate school studies that will prepare them for careers in government or other public service.

trustees—see board of trustees.

Turtle Creek: The Beloit College Bookstore—Located at 444 E. Grand Ave. in downtown Beloit (owned by Beloit College but managed by Barnes and Noble College Bookstores, Inc.)

TV lounge—Always say it is in Pearsons Hall. Do not call it the smoking lounge. The space is no longer the Breeze Cafe. See appendix. <