Marketing and Communications

Editorial Style

University Guidelines

academic degrees

Degree names should be spelled out whenever possible:

The College of Medicine offers a Doctor of Medicine degree.

Use an apostrophe in bachelor’s degree, a master’s degree, etc., but there is no possessive in Bachelor of Arts or Master of Science.

Include associate degree and bachelor’s degree in biographical context, but do not use when providing naming credentials:

Correct: John Snow, M.D., spoke at the event. He earned a bachelor’s degree in biology from Kent State University and a Doctor of Medicine degree from NEOMED.

Incorrect: John Snow, B.S., M.D., spoke at the event.

Degree abbreviations require periods in all instances:

  • Ph.D.
  • Ed.D
  • Pharm.D.
  • M.S.
  • M.D.
  • M.Ed.
  • D.D.S.
  • D.Sc.
  • Psy.D.
  • Th.D.
  • J.D.
  • M.B.A.

The following credentials are notable University Style exceptions:

  • R.Ph.

Non-degree credentials should be listed without periods:

  • FACP
  • FASHP
  • FAPhA
  • DTE
  • RN

When used after a name, an academic abbreviation is set off by commas:

John Snow, Ph.D., spoke at the event.

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:

Correct: John Snow, M.D., spoke at the event.

Incorrect: Dr. John Snow, M.D., spoke at the event.

When bolding a name and title, the comma following the credentials is also bolded:

John Snow, M.D., spoke at the event.

academic programs

The term “program” should not be capitalized unless used as an official part of a title.

academic titles

Capitalize when preceding names. Lowercase when standing alone or following names, except for named professorships or Distinguished University Professors:

President Jay A. Gershen, D.D.S., Ph.D., spoke at the event.

Jay A. Gershen, D.D.S., Ph.D., president of Northeast Ohio Medical University, spoke at the event.

The president of the University spoke at the event.

Fayez Safadi, Ph.D., Ohio Research Scholar, was the keynote speaker.

John Chiang, Ph.D., Distinguished University Professor in the Department of Integrative Medical Sciences, was on the panel.

In the event that a single individual holds multiple titles, the following hierarchy prevails:

Leadership team/dean title; named professorships or Distinguished University Professors; academic title; administrative title; appointments.

Elisabeth H. Young, M.D., FACP, vice president for health affairs and dean of the College of Medicine, welcomed students.

Seth P. Brownlee, Pharm.D., BCCCP, associate dean of the College of Pharmacy and director of pharmacotherapy, provided a lecture.

Amy Lee, M.D., professor in the Department of Family and Community Medicine, program director for the Consortium of Eastern Ohio Master of Public Health and chair of the University Faculty Council, called the meeting to order.

Do not use “professor” as a synonym for “faculty member,” as the university has several faculty classifications.

Always lowercase “professor” and other faculty “academic titles” when they stand alone, follow a name or precede a department name ― even an official department name. Faculty “academic titles” include the rank and department where the faculty member is appointed and should be expressed as [rank] of [department].

Sara Dugan, Pharm.D., associate professor of the Department of Pharmacy Practice, appeared on WKSU’s Health Forum.

Whether tenured and non-tenured, ranks in the College of Medicine can be either paid or voluntary. Ranks in the College of Pharmacy can be paid or co-funded (they are not voluntary).

  • instructor (non-tenured only)
  • assistant professor
  • associate professor
  • professor

The “clinical” qualifier ahead of the rank signifies a voluntary faculty member in the College of Medicine. However, do not refer to them as “volunteers” or their work as “voluntary.” In the College of Pharmacy, the “clinical” qualifier is used for the preceptor track:

  • clinical instructor (residents only)
  • clinical assistant professor
  • clinical associate professor
  • clinical professor

Limited appointments (all are non-tenure track only and are limited by time or scope of responsibilities):

  • adjunct + rank
  • research + rank
  • visiting + rank

In the College of Graduate Studies, there are no paid or tenure track positions. The majority of faculty hold primary appointments within the Colleges of Medicine and Pharmacy.

  • Adjunct Faculty (primary appointment at NEOMED is in College of Graduate Studies)
  • Graduate Faculty Member
  • Graduate Faculty with Advising Status (advise doctoral dissertations)

For students, indicate year and area of study for an external audience. Use fi rst-year, second-year, etc.

First-year medicine student Jason Jones won an award.

First-year College of Medicine student Jason Jones won an award.

Jessica Jones, a fourth-year pharmacy student, matched for residency.

Jessica Jones, a fourth-year College of Pharmacy student, matched for residency.

(Note that abbreviations M1, P4, etc. are acceptable for internal use only).

alumna, alumnae, alumnus, alumni

Alumnus is the singular, masculine form. For references to women, use alumna (singular) or alumnae (plural). Alumni is plural for a group of both men and women.

For graduation year, indicate year (in parentheses) after credentials. No comma between credential and year, but a comma goes after the year.

Jessica Student, Pharm.D. (’14), was honored at the event.

Jason Student, Ph.D. (’17), gave $10,000 to the Blue Fund.

At the anniversary celebration, Julia Student, M.D. (’81), presented the keynote.

(Please note that ‘alum’ is not a word and should not be used.)

ampersand (&)

Avoid using an ampersand unless it is part of an official title.

When referring to a University entity, do not use an ampersand in any instance.

When referring to outside entities, do not use an ampersand unless it is part of a formal name:

Institute for Health & Aging.

atrium

See hall, auditorium, atrium

Board of Trustees

Northeast Ohio Medical University Board of Trustees should be listed in full on first mention; Board of Trustees or Board (capitalized) thereafter.

buildings

Refer to buildings by their proper names:

Research and Graduate Education Building (the RGEB on second reference)

Village at NEOMED (the Village on second reference)

NEOMED Education and Wellness Center (NEW Center on second reference)

capitalization

The Associated Press Stylebook and Northeast Ohio Medical University favor a “down” style — that is, one that encourages a minimum of capitalization. When in doubt, do not capitalize.

This includes major university events (commencement, white coat), unless they are used with the University (or College) name for a specified event, such as 2018 Northeast Ohio Medical University Commencement, White Coat Ceremony for the College of Pharmacy or College of Medicine White Coat Ceremony. Otherwise, “commencement,” “white coat,” etc.

For guidelines on capitalization for events and other specific instances, e.g., academic or course titles, see the entry for that listing.

chair

Use in all cases (not chairman, chairwoman, or chairperson); see academic titles for capitalization

class

Capitalize the official name; lowercase for generic usage.

The University welcomed members of the Class of 2018.

He entered the room and joined his class.

commencement, commencement

Capitalize the formal ceremony; lowercase for generic usage.

Today we celebrate Northeast Ohio Medical University Commencement.

Students prepared to walk across the stage at commencement.

curriculum/curricula

Curriculum is singular. Curricula and curriculums are plural.

doctor

A word such as physician, surgeon or pharmacist is preferred; do not refer to individuals holding a Doctor of Medicine degree or similar degree as “doctors” in the same sentence in which you refer to others by their specialty.

Incorrect: There were several doctors and pharmacists in attendance.

Correct: There were several physicians and pharmacists in attendance.

Correct: There were Doctors of Medicine and Pharmacy in attendance.

Use the title Dr. and the individual’s last name for individuals with doctoral degrees when used in copy on second reference.

John Rain, Ph.D., spoke at the event. Dr. Rain also won an award.

Jane Snow, Pharm.D., spoke at the event. Dr. Snow also won an award.

Do not use Dr. before the names of individuals who hold only honorary doctorates.

faculty/staff

Faculty and staff are groups of people. Faculty members and staff members are the people within those groups. Do not interchange the two.

All faculty members are encouraged to take part in the event;
the University’s faculty is renowned for its excellence in teaching.

When referring to Rootstown-based/on-campus faculty, simply use faculty.

When referring to clinical site-based faculty, use the term “clinical” faculty.

Education for Service

Uppercase and italicized; no hyphens.

Northeast Ohio Medical University launched the Education for Service initiative in October 2010.

Education for Service is a NEOMED initiative; through this initiative, the University partners with other higher education and health care institutions, clinical providers, businesses, communities and individuals to find solutions to meet the challenges of creating a more diverse health care workforce that cares for underserved populations. This initiative will create a regional, comprehensive integrated program that educates local students to become the next generation of health care practitioners who will provide high quality, effective care to patients in urban and rural areas in the Northeast Ohio region. Starting with students as early as middle school and continuing through the start of practice, Education for Service seeks to address the academic, social and financial barriers on the pathway to practice.

health care

Two words, no hyphen, for both nouns and adjectives.

legislative titles

Capitalize legislative titles when they precede a name; lower case when they follow a name, unless title wording is a proper noun.

Congressman Tim Ryan spoke with an event attendee.

Tim Ryan, U.S. Congressman, spoke to the attendees.

Rep. Ryan addressed the crowd.

Speakers included state Representative Todd McKenney.

Ohio House Speaker William Batchelder was in attendance.

M.D.

A word such as physician or surgeon is preferred. The periods in the abbreviation are an exception to the Webster’s New World College Dictionary. (See “academic degrees.”)

MEDCAMP

Name of the overnight intensive immersion experience held at the University.

Several area students attended MEDCAMP this summer.

medical university

The University should be referenced as a medical university, not a medical college or medical school.

medicine, medical

Use medical when referencing an all-inclusive group of several different health care professions and professionals; use medicine only when referring to programs in the

College of Medicine and students who are aspiring physicians.

We welcomed new medicine students during the College of Medicine White Coat Ceremony.

We celebrated the achievements of our medical students at commencement.

The medicine and pharmacy students are on rotation.

Northeast Ohio

Capitalize Northeast and Ohio when referring to the geographic region. Do not use Northeastern when referencing the region.

Ph.D.

The preferred form is to say a person holds a doctorate and name the individual’s area of specialty. The periods in the abbreviation are an exception to the Webster’s New World College Dictionary.

(See “academic degrees.”)

pharmacist

The preferred term for individuals holding a Doctor of Pharmacy degree or similar credentials.

physician

The preferred term for individuals holding a Doctor of Medicine degree or similar credentials.

room numbers

Lowercase the word room in all instances.

The meeting will be in room R-237.

specialties

Do not capitalize specialties unless they are a proper noun.

He specializes in internal medicine.

She specializes in Alzheimer’s disease research.

state of Ohio

Capitalize when referring to a specific bureau or department; lower case in all other references.

Do not use Ohio state to avoid confusion with the University name.

The State of Ohio Census Bureau conducted the poll.

The state of Ohio awarded the research funding.

STEM+M

STEM+M stands for science, technology, engineering, math and medicine; The STEM+M high school on the Northeast Ohio Medical University campus should be referred to as Bio-Med Science Academy.

(See Bio-Med Science Academy.)

telephone numbers

Use periods to separate area codes and prefixes.

502.852.6171

Do not use the numeral 1 before area codes, including 800 numbers.

time

Use numerals in all cases and omit the zeros for on-the-hour times. Use periods for a.m. and p.m. To avoid confusion, use noon and midnight instead of 12 p.m. and 12 a.m. Use a hyphen to separate periods of time within the same half of the day; use the word to in order to separate periods of time through a day or when using the words noon and midnight.

11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

1-3 p.m.

8:30 a.m. to 5:45 p.m.

8 a.m. to noon

white coat

Uppercase the formal ceremony; lowercase for generic usage.

She was excited for the NEOMED White Coat Ceremony.

I would like to be a white coat sponsor.

He received his white coat.

CONTACT

Office of Marketing and Communications
Phone: 330.325.6618
Email: marcom@neomed.edu

MEDIA

Roderick Ingram Sr.
Vice President for Communications
Chief Marketing Officer
Phone: 330.325.6673
Email: ringram@neomed.edu

Marketing & Communications

Northeast Ohio Medical University