Editorial Style Guide: A-C
Cum laude, magna cum laude and summa cum laude are all Latin words and should be italicized. See the academic catalog for the GPA requirements to earn these honor designations at graduation.
acronyms
Use apostrophe only to show possession:
The PM's calendar was full.
Do not use apostrophe to show plural:
PSAs are great publicity tools.
advisor
Not adviser (contrary to AP style)
Always use figures for people, animals and inanimates.
The girl is 15 years old; the law is 8 years old; the 101-year-old house. When the context does not require years or years old, the figure is presumed to be years.
Use hyphens for ages expressed as adjectives before a noun or as substitutes for a noun.
A 5-year-old boy, but the boy is 5 years old. The boy, 7, has a sister, 10. The woman, 26, has a daughter 2 months old. The race is for 3-year-olds. The woman is in her 30s (no apostrophe).
See also boy; girl; infant; youth and numerals in AP Stylebook 2
See comma in punctuation guidelines in AP Stylebook 2008.
Alaska
Do not abbreviate in text.
Alaska Nanooks (see Nanook)Alaska Sea Grant College Program
Capitalize initial letters of each word.
Alaskan
Use as a noun describing a person, not a place. Never "Alaskan city," for example.
The professor is a longtime Alaskan.
One word, capitalize O. Refers to the statewide public television stations only, not the radio station.
alphabetizing
Alphabetizing letter by letter, not word by word, is preferred. In the letter-by-letter method, spaces and hyphens are ignored.
Letter by letter: newborn, newcomer, New Deal, new economics
(Word by word: New Deal, new economics, newborn, newcomer)
alumni
Alumna is a female who has attended a school; alumnae is plural for female attendees; alumnus is a male who has attended a school; alumni is plural for male graduates and the term used when referring to a group of men and women. Use alumnus when referring to a non-gender specific individual.
Note: The term does not necessarily denote a graduate but may refer to anyone who has attended UAF as a student. Use the plural alumni whenever possible. Avoid abbreviating as alum.
For treatment of obsolete forms of UAF's name, see UAF.
a.m., p.m. (see alsotime of day)
Lowercase with a space between the time and a.m./p.m., and periods in between the letters:
The conference will start at 9 a.m.
Arctic, arctic (see alsosubarctic)
Capitalize when using as a noun:
The Arctic is a dangerous and hostile place.
Lowercase when using as an adjective:
If you survive an arctic winter, you deserve to go to the tropics.
Associated Students of the University of Alaska Fairbanks (ASUAF)
Do not use periods. Use abbreviation only after full name has been used at least once.
Athabascan
Not Athabaskan.
athletic director, director of athletics and recreation
The person who oversees the Department of Athletics [plural] and Recreation is the athletic [singular] director. The title is not capitalized, not any single part of it. Not "athletic," not "director." Period.
The new coach was welcomed by athletic director Forrest Karr.
Athletics and Recreation, Department of
At UAF, the department's full title is Department of Athletics and Recreation. The last two words are optional unless their inclusion is helpful to the story.
The chancellor commended the Department of Athletics for achieving Title IX compliance.
Intramural sports are overseen by the Department of Athletics and Recreation.
Do not capitalize. Aurora is acceptable on second reference.
Plural form auroras or aurorae; borealis does not change.
ballroom (Wood Center Carol Brown)
See Wood Center Carol Brown Ballroom.
bioinformatic
(adjective) – Relating to bioinformatics.
bioinformatics
(noun) – Science of information and information flow in biological systems, especially the use of computational methods to process information in genetics and genomics.
board of regents
Capitalize when using full name:
The University of Alaska Board of Regents met on Wednesday.
Lowercase when not using full name:
The board of regents met Wednesday.
Takes a singular verb:
The board of regents is meeting on the UAA campus.
Bookstore
Capitalize when referring specifically to the bookstore in Constitution Hall. Do not capitalize a preceding "the."
The student bought art supplies at the Bookstore.
building — names
Capitalize building if part of the formal name.
Many students have classes in the Gruening Building.
The Girl Scouts sold cookies outside the Fred Meyer building.
Complete formal names may be abbreviated to their common usage.
Earnest Gruening Building or Gruening Building
Brooks Memorial Mines Building or Brooks Building
Lowercase in other instances:
The building was constructed…
Apply the same rules to other building designators, such as complex, facility, hall and theater. A more complete treatment of Fairbanks campus buildings and facilities names and histories is available from Marketing and Communications.
building — rooms
The use of the word building is optional with room numbers.
Capitalize if using with a room number:
The conference will be held in 208 Gruening Building. (or Gruening 208)
Use numerals for numbers:
The conference will be held in 208 Gruening.
Although there is no preferred UAF style, maintain consistent use within a document.
campus (see alsocommunity campuses)
Capitalize when using full name:
The Chukchi Campus is in Kotzebue, and the Bristol Bay Campus is in Dillingham.
Fairbanks campus does not take a capital c, and is used to refer specifically to
the headquarters of the UAF system.
Lowercase when not using full or formal name:
The campus was teeming with students on the first day of class.
campuswide
One word, no hyphen:
That e-mail was sent campuswide.
The campuswide distribution was a success.
canceled
Use one l, not two:
The meeting is canceled due to aliens landing on Gruening.
capital, Capitol
Use capital (lowercase) when referring to the city where a seat of government is located, the case of a letter, or a budget or monetary reference. Use Capitol (capitalized) when referring to a building in which a state or federal legislative body meets.
Juneau is the capital of Alaska. Many consider the Capitol too small and
want to build a new one.
capitalization (see also center, department, seasons, titles and job titles)
See individual entries. In general, capitalize formal titles or names but lowercase general uses of a noun:
The University of Alaska Fairbanks is the flagship of the statewide system.
The university's main campus is in Fairbanks.
Many classes are held in Schaible Auditorium.
The lecture was held in the auditorium.
catalog
Not catalogue.
Capitalize when using the full name; lowercase in other instances.
The Alaska Quaternary Center deals with certain geological time periods.
The center deals with certain geological time periods.
The Center for Distance Education moved to its offices.
The center moved its offices.
chair
Not chairman, chairwoman or chairperson. Contrary to AP style. Capitalize when preceding a name (but not department); lowercase in all other instances.
The students met with department Chair Rachel Smith to discuss their concerns.
Rachel Smith, chair of the department, issued a statement on the dean's behalf.
The committee chair was appointed last year.
championship
Capitalize when part of the complete title:
UAF won the NCAA Rifle Championship again this year.
UAF has won the national rifle championship three years in a row.
Marius Korthauer won the national championship at the NCAA National Skiing Championship.
chancellor
Capitalize as part of a title:
At the meeting, Chancellor Brian Rogers…
Lowercase in other instances:
Brian Rogers is chancellor of UAF.
Please welcome UAF's chancellor, Brian Rogers.
Note: Brian Rogers was appointed in June 2008 as interim chancellor for two years. Use "interim chancellor" only when there is an explicit need.
chancellor's list
Place the apostrophe before the s as there is only one chancellor for whom the list is named. Do not capitalize the c or the l.
Charles W. Davis Concert Hall
Can be shortened to Davis Concert Hall (initial caps).
circumpolar
Don't capitalize.
city of Fairbanks
Don't capitalize city unless referring to the full name as a legal or political entity:
The city of Fairbanks is located in Interior Alaska.
The City of Fairbanks sued the state for interfering in municipal matters.
class
Lowercase class of 1999.
class names, class standing
Lowercase class standings: freshman, sophomore, junior, senior, graduate student, undergraduate student.
clean room (as used in nanotechnology)
Not cleanroom.
coed
Use coed when referring to a coeducational college or university. No hyphen.
Residence Life offers living environments to meet every need including coed buildings by floor.
NOTE: Use of coed when referring to a female student at a coeducational university could be considered sexist language.
cold-climate (modifying adjective)
Hyphenate cold climate when used as a modifying adjective.
The findings will help improve cold-climate building practices in Alaska.
Note: Do not hyphenate Cold Climate Housing Research Center.
Do not hyphenate when climate is the noun:
Researchers took special care of their instruments in the cold climate.
college, colleges (see also school, schools)
Capitalize as part of official name:
The College of Liberal Arts offers…
Lowercase in other instances:
The college offers…
UAF colleges and their abbreviations:
College of Engineering and Mines (CEM)
College of Liberal Arts (CLA)
College of Natural Science and Mathematics (CNSM)
College of Rural and Community Development (CRCD)
commas
Use a comma before the and when combining two independent clauses:
I was laughing, and he was crying.
In a series, do not use a comma before the and unless one of the items in the series has an and in it:
I bought oranges, apples and butter.
They looked into funding, research and development, and history.
Lowercase when used to refer to commencement or convocation generally:
UAF's 69th commencement was held May 5, 1991.
More than 2,000 people attended the UAF commencement ceremonies.
Capitalize when followed by the specific year:
UAF celebrated Commencement 2006 in grand style.
Capitalize when using full name:
Bristol Bay Campus is in Dillingham.
Chukchi Campus is in Kotzebue.
Interior-Aleutians Campus is based in Fairbanks.
Kuskokwim Campus is in Bethel.
Northwest Campus is in Nome.
Lowercase when not using full or formal name:
The campus is located on the other side of town.
convocation
See commencement.
corporation
Abbreviate:
The Bristol Bay Native Corp. is…
core
Refers to the concentration of classes taken by all baccalaureate students. Do not capitalize.
course work
Two words, not one
cross country
No hyphen: UAF has men's and women's cross country skiing teams.