1. Home
  2. Offices
  3. Marketing and Communications

Editorial Guidelines

To ensure clear and consistent messaging from the university, the editorial guidelines listed below are designed to assist and inform campus communicators in the preparation of copy for general audiences. Most importantly, using good judgment and discretion in all communications is vital to representing the university in a positive and effective manner. Bradley University also requires the use of language that is not prejudiced, discriminatory, stereotypes or limits the views of any people or groups.

With a few exceptions, Bradley's editorial guidelines are based on the Associated Press Stylebook. If a topic is not covered in the entries listed below, please contact the Office of Marketing and Communications for assistance.

Guidelines Last Updated: August 22, 2019

A   B   C   D   E   F   G   H   I   J   K   L   M   N   O   P   Q   R   S   T   U   V   W   X   Y   Z

A

  • a, an – use the article a before consonant sounds: a historic event, a one-year term (sounds as if it begins with a w), a united stand (sounds like you). Use the article “an” before vowel sounds: an energy crisis, an honorable man (the h is silent), an homage (the h is silent), an NBA record (sounds like it begins with the letter e), an 1890s celebration.
  • ABOVE: – how to point out a photo when several are grouped on a page.
  • Abbreviations – while some abbreviations are necessary, avoid overusing them. Do not use them after an organization’s name if the abbreviation or acronym would not be clear on second reference. See also “State names” entry.
  • academic degrees – when referring to an academic degree in text, the preferred form is to avoid an abbreviation and use a phrase such as bachelor's or master's (note possessive) degree. (Joe Smith earned a bachelor's degree in engineering.) Also, doctorate or doctoral degree. When abbreviations are necessary, use periods for degrees where the subject studied isn't clear (e.g., B.A., M.A., M.S.). However, MBA, MSA, MFA, MSEE, MSCE, MSMfE do not need periods between their letters since the acronym references the subject matter. When listing more than one degree, do not include a comma between the two. See "degrees" entry for details on applying degrees and graduations years to alumni names.
  • academic titles – do not use Dr. in front of faculty names; only use in front of someone who holds an advanced medical degree, such as a physician, dentist, optometrist, osteopath, podiatrist or vet. This rule applies to marketing/journalistic materials only.
  • accents – use only with names, not with regular words.
  • actor/actress – preferred usage is actor, unless a woman prefers actress.
  • addresses – abbreviate St., Ave., Rd., Pl., etc., with a numbered address unless part of a quote or sentence, e.g., I lived at 408 Elm Street.
  • adidas – lowercase unless starting a sentence.
  • Admission, Office of Undergraduate; also admission office.
  • adviser/advisor – use adviser in general copy; use advisor when part of a professional title, e.g., My academic adviser helped me with my schedule. He is special advisor to the president.
  • African American – no hyphen; see entry on race.
  • ages – use numerals (even under age 10); spell out for decade spans with ages, e.g., Jill is in her forties.
  • al-Qaida
  • All-American, All-MVC
  • alum – avoid whenever possible; instead use alumna (single female), alumnus (single male), alumnae (plural female); alumni (plural male or mix of both genders).
  • Alumni Center, the; Use on second reference only after providing full, proper name of Hayden-Clark Alumni Center.
  • Alumni Quad
  • a.m. or p.m. – see “time” entry.
  • Anderson, Mitchell “J. J.” – class of 1982 retired power forward with the NBA.
  • apostrophe – use smart (i.e., curly) apostrophe (‘ ’) in standard copy; only use straight/dumb apostrophe (') to designate feet.
  • Aramark
  • area codes – use figures. Form should be 309-555-1234.
  • Army, Air Force, Marine Corps, Navy – no need to precede with U.S. other than for clarification when referring to other countries’ military.
  • artist-in-residence, composer-in-residence
  • associate degree – note no possessive, e.g., Her associate degree is from ICC.
  • athletic department – but Department of Athletics and Bradley Athletics.
  • Atrium, Nick and Nancy Owens – official name of atrium in Renaissance Coliseum; may also be called Owens Atrium.

B

  • basketball team – don’t use “men’s” for teams before the mid-1970s.
  • BFAN – Bradley Forensics Alumni Network; alumni group for speech team.
  • Bids for the Braves auction
  • Black(s), white(s) – do not use either as a singular noun. For plurals, Black people, white people are acceptable when relevant, e.g., He helped integrate dance halls among Blacks, whites, Latinx and Asian Americans. Black and white are also acceptable as adjectives when relevant.
  • Bradley Athletics Hall of Fame – no University.
  • Bradley Experience
  • Bradley Polytechnic Institute – chartered Nov. 13, 1896; dedicated October 1897; became a four-year college in 1920; began offering graduate programs and renamed Bradley University in 1946.
  • broadcast – also past tense, not broadcasted.
  • Bronze Star, Purple Heart, etc.
  • BU – only use with official group titles; do not use to refer to the university as a whole.
  • Burger, Lewis J. Center for Student Leadership and Public Service
  • Burklund Family Heritage Hall – located in the Renaissance Coliseum.
  • Business and Engineering Convergence Center – capitalize when referring to Bradley initiative/building; the Convergence Center is acceptable on second reference.
  • businessman – preferred usage is the person’s title. When that is not available, use business executive or business manager.

C

  • Cabinet – the U.S. president’s Cabinet
  • Campaign for a Bradley Renaissance (or Renaissance Campaign on second reference) – launched in spring 2008 with goal of raising $150 million; concluded October 2011 with total funds raised exceeding $161 million.
  • campuswide
  • capital – nation’s capital, capital of Illinois, etc.
  • Capitalizations – capitalize proper nouns but not secondary abbreviations/shorthand for them, including campus references (i.e., Bradley University and the university; College of Education and Health Sciences and the college; Department of English and the department; Bernard Osher Foundation and the foundation). Also see “Headlines in sentence case” for details on capitalizing headlines.
  • Capitol – capitalized when referring to official sites.
  • Caterpillar Inc.
  • Caterpillar College of Engineering and Technology – when using for historical articles be sure to use the correct name, as follows: Technical College – 1946; College of Engineering – 1951; College of Engineering and Technology – Fall 1967 (resulting from merger of College of Engineering and College of Applied Sciences); Caterpillar College of Engineering and Technology – October 2012.
  • Caterpillar Global Communications Center; GCC is acceptable on second reference.
  • Caterpillar professorships – capitalize title before or after name, e.g., Dr. Larry Weinzimmer, Caterpillar Professor of Strategic Management.
  • Center for Collaborative Brain Research; CCBR acceptable on 2nd reference.
  • Center for STEM Education
  • Centurion Society – the society is acceptable on second reference.
  • central Illinois – only capitalize when it’s part of a name, e.g., Central Illinois Chapter of XX.
  • CEO – don’t spell out.
  • chair – not chairman/chairwoman unless the individual requests it.
  • The Charley Steiner School of Sports Communication – always use “The” capitalized in first and all subsequent uses; on second reference, may refer to it as The Steiner School.
  • Chet “The Jet” Walker
  • Class of ’XX – The Class of ’61 is having its Golden Reunion.
  • Co. – for company, e.g., He owns ABC Co. in Chicago.
  • cocurricular
  • College of Education and Health Sciences – note the “s” on Sciences.
  • College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
  • comma, serial/oxford – the final comma in a series of three or more items is not used (a, b and c) unless required for clarity in a series of complex elements (note: if not sure, ask an editor in the Office of University Marketing and Communications); also, if the series involves internal punctuation or is very long and complex, use semicolons in place of commas, e.g., I visited Fremont, Neb.; Cedar Rapids, Iowa; and Peoria, Ariz.
  • communication – note no “s” on “communication” when referencing the department, program, major or The Steiner School; use “s” when referencing Slane College of Communications and Fine Arts.
  • Commencement – capitalize when specifically referring to Bradley ceremony.
  • company names – use full name with extension (e.g., Corp., Inc.); however, only use a comma before the extension if the company's official website indicates to do so; do not add periods within extensions (e.g., LLC, PC). Also see “Inc.” entry below.
  • Congressional District – Bradley is in the 18th Congressional District.
  • Conley, Timothy – Associate Professor of English. Do not use Tim.
  • Convergence Center – acceptable only on second reference for Business and Engineering Convergence Center.
  • Convocation, Founder’s Day/First-year Student
  • Corp. – don’t spell out, e.g., Sears Holding Corp.
  • Cullom-Davis Library – OK to use “the,” but not necessary.
  • curriculum (singular), curricula (plural)
  • cutlines/captions – identify person by full name in first cutline on each spread. Last name is sufficient in subsequent photos. (Dr. Lisa Nathan ’98 points to XX; John Smith ’01 (left) and Bill Jones ’77 demonstrate XX.) When both men and women are in a photo, and in other cases that would be obvious to readers, don’t indicate direction. (Tom Ryan ’68 and his daughter, Julie, are members of XX. Shown with President Glasser are (from left) Tim Johnson ’00.

D

  • Deans Scholarship – capitalize when specifically referencing Bradley’s scholarship; no apostrophe on Deans.
  • decades – ’70s or 1970s, no apostrophe (not 1970’s); spell out for ages, e.g., Stuart was in his twenties.
  • degrees – list after names of alumni: Jenny Jones ’78; Tom Jones ’83 ’85 (for two bachelor’s degrees); Mary Smart M.S. ’60 or Doug Frank HON ’06; Frank Harris ’99 MBA ’01 (no comma necessary between bachelor’s and master’s degrees); Albert Walker, M.A. ’70 M.A. ’76 (no comma necessary between two master’s degrees but list both even if same type). See "academic degrees" above for preferred forms of degree references.
  • department titles – capitalize when listing full proper name (Department of Physics); lowercase when abbreviating (physics department); note frequently mistyped names:
    • Department of Communication – note no “s” on “Communication.”
    • Department of Physical Therapy and Health Science – note no “ss” on “sScience.”
    • Department of Theatre Arts – note “Theatre” ending of “re.” See “theatre” entry.
  • Dingeldine Music Center
  • Distinguished Alumnus Award, Distinguished Alumna Award
  • doctoral degree (or doctorate) – when referring to this type of degree in text, the preferred form is to use doctorate or doctoral degree, e.g., Joe Smith earned a doctorate in engineering. When abbreviations are necessary, only use Dr. in front of the name of someone who holds an advanced medical degree, such as physician, dentist, optometrist, osteopath, podiatrist or vet; all others would use Ph.D. after the name.
  • Doctor of Humane Letters
  • DPT – abbreviation for Doctor of Physical Therapy, Bradley’s first professional doctorate program; first offered in June 2005.

E

  • e-book, e-business, e-commerce, e-reader.
  • e.g. – meaning “for example” always preceded and followed by a comma, e.g., it should look like this.
  • ellipsis (…) – use three dots with a space on either side (hint: think of it as its own word); if ellipsis is used after a full sentence, use a period before the ellipsis, e.g., I love to read. (…) Doesn’t everybody? (ellipses is the plural form)
  • email – no hyphen.
  • emeritus – male; Bradley format is professor of history, emeritus.
  • emerita – female; Bradley format is professor of nursing, emerita.
  • emeriti – plural of emeritus/a.
  • em dash – always include a space before and after the em dash; use in place of parentheses around extra information you want to emphasize or in place of commas when there already are several of commas in sentence/paragraph; they also may be used in place of a colon to introduce a list. To produce on Mac, use Option/Alt + Shift + Hyphen.
  • en dash – use between ranges of numbers, including pages, dates, times, etc. To produce on Mac, use Option/Alt + Hyphen.
  • endowed professorships – capitalize title before and after name, e.g., Joshua J. Lewer, Robert A. McCord Endowed Professor for Executive Management Development.
  • Eurest Dining Services
  • every day, everyday – only use everyday as a modifier, e.g., He goes to class every day. She wore her everyday shoes
  • Executive MBA (or EMBA) – established in fall 2001; endowed by and named the Theresa S. Falcon Executive MBA for Dr. Theresa S. Falcon-Cullinan in January 2009 (also see “Master of Business Administration” entry below); degrees are MBAs.

F

  • faculty – may be singular or plural depending on context; however, be consistent with use within a single context.
  • Fall Break
  • fall semester, first semester
  • Family and Consumer Sciences – make sure to use “s” on sciences; abbreviate FCS on second reference.
  • family-owned – hyphenate when used as a compound adjective, e.g, She runs a family-owned business.
  • Famous Five basketball team – actually six players: Carl Schunk ’39, Charles Orsborn ’39 MS ’51, Dar Hutchins ’39, Les Getz ’38, Kenny Olson ’41, and Ted Panish ’39 MA ’63; formed in 1936 by the late A. J. Robertson, the team had great success over its three seasons, recording 52 wins and 10 losses through 1939.
  • faze, phase – The news didn’t faze him. It was just a phase she was going through.
  • Field House – on second reference. The full name is Robertson Memorial Field House; the Campustown bar and grill is called The Fieldhouse.
  • first – do not use first annual or first inaugural.
  • first-team, First Team – lowercase and hyphenate as an adjective, e.g., first-team All-MVC selection; capitalize as part of the proper noun, e.g., All-MVC First Team.
  • Foster College of Business – when using for historical articles be sure to use correct the name, as follows: Department of Business Administration and Economics – 1920; College of Commerce – 1950; College of Business Administration – 1956; Foster College of Business Administration – 1994; Foster College of Business – fall 2013.
  • Founder’s Circle – note the apostrophe before “s,” as it was named for university founder Lydia Moss Bradley. On Founder's Day 1997, Mrs. Bradley's statue was unveiled in the new Founder's Circle.
  • Founder’s Day – note the apostrophe before “s,” as it is the day to remember university founder Lydia Moss Bradley.
  • Founders’ Room – note the apostrophe after “s,” as it does not reference the university’s founder but a group of people who belonged to the former giving society called the “Founders’ Society”; located on the third floor of the Hartmann Center for the Performing Arts.
  • Fraternity Row
  • first-year women – preferred usage is first-year women
  • Fulbright Program – There are two different levels: Fulbright Scholar Program and Fulbright Student Program.
    • The Fulbright Scholar Program awards research and teaching opportunities to faculty members, who are referred to as “Fulbright Scholars.”
    • The Fulbright Student Program awards study, research, and teaching opportunities to students and young professionals. They should be called “Fulbright U.S. Students” or “Fulbright English Teaching Assistants.” You may also refer to them as recipients of Fulbright Study/Research grants.
    • While the terminology is not interchangeable, the Fulbright website does indicate the acceptance of “Fulbrighter,” “Fulbright grantees” or “Fulbright fellows” for generic purposes.
  • fundraising – one word; also fundraiser.

G

  • Gallery of Excellence (in Library)
  • Game Day luncheon
  • globe-trotting
  • Globetrotters, Harlem
  • grade point average – GPA is acceptable on any reference.
  • Greek Row
  • green screen – two words, no hyphen in any use.

H

  • half-staff on campus – half-mast only on a ship.
  • “Hail, Red and White” – song titles are in quotes, not italicized.
  • Hall of Fame – always capitalized when used; capitalize on second reference for National Baseball Hall of Fame only.
  • Hall of Famer – always capitalized, so use rarely to avoid awkward capping.
  • Hartmann Center for the Performing Arts; also Hartmann Center.
  • Hayden-Clark Alumni Center – Alumni Center acceptable on second reference.
  • Headlines – acceptable in either sentence case or title case.
  • health care – two words in all uses; no hyphen ever.
  • Health Professions Advising Center
  • Heyl, Royster, Voelker & Allen P.C. – Heyl Royster (without comma) acceptable on second reference.
  • Hill-Schupbach, Mary Ellen – MVC Hall of Famer who ran track and cross country.
  • Hillel, Hillel House – Hillel is the organization; Hillel House is the building where students gather.
  • Hilltop – Students return to the Hilltop on Sunday.
  • historic – important occurrence standing out in history.
  • historical – any event that happened in the past.
  • Holidays – note frequently mistyped names:
    • New Year’s, New Year’s Day, New Year’s Eve – note inclusion of apostrophe
    • Martin Luther King Jr. Day – note no commas
    • Memorial Day, Memorial Day weekend – never Memorial weekend
    • Independence Day, Fourth of July – both acceptable
    • Presidents Day – note no apostrophe, unless referencing specific event (Washington’s Birthday)
    • Labor Day, Labor Day weekend – never Labor weekend
    • Veterans Day – note no apostrophe
  • Homecoming – capitalize when referring to Bradley event.
  • honorary alumnus/a status – awarded to individuals by Development; no HON designation.
  • Honorary degree – list with HON designation, e.g., Jack Brickhouse ’37 HON ’90 or Doug Frank HON ’06.
  • Honors Program – capitalize when referencing Bradley’s program.
  • hyphen – do not use for ranges of numbers; see “en dash” for details.

I

  • ICAT – Innovations Conference on Asphalt and Transportation
  • i.e. – abbreviation meaning “that is”’ always preceded and followed by a comma, i.e., it should look like this.
  • Illinois State University – or Illinois State; ISU acceptable on second reference.
  • Inc. – generally, no comma before, e.g., Caterpillar Inc., but check company name on its website for preference, such as Nike, Inc.
  • initials – generally include a space between letters, e.g., Kathleen M. B. Holst, except when individual uses initials instead of a first name, as in J.P. Morgan.
  • intercampus – no hyphen.
  • internet – lowercase in all uses.
  • Italics – do not use in marketing materials.

J

  • January Interim, J-term
  • Joint Chiefs of Staff

K

  • Susan G. Komen (Susan G. Komen organization acceptable when distinguishing from the person).
  • kosher kitchen – in Geisert and in Hillel House.
  • Kyiv – capital of Ukraine formerly spelled Kiev.

L

  • LaHood, Ray – follow AP style when referring to role as former congressman and former secretary of transportation, e.g., former U.S. Rep and Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood '71 HON '11 OR Ray LaHood '71 HON '11, former congressman and secretary of transportation/transportation secretary.
  • Late Night BU
  • Latinx – see entry on race. Preferred term is Latinx to be inclusive of all gender identities. Ask the person their preference whenever possible.
  • Leadership Lifestyles Floor
  • LEED certification – the U.S. Green Building Council certifies projects at four levels (lowest to highest) LEED certified, LEED Silver certified, LEED Gold certified, LEED Platinum certified (Westlake Hall is LEED Gold certified.) Visit https://www.usgbc.org/leed for USGBC’s PR guidelines for LEED-certified projects.
  • Lists – sentence fragments that are part of a list, e.g., bulleted items, do not need ending punctuation. When the item forms a complete sentence, use a semicolon or period at the end. Be consistent in style, i.e., do not mix and match sentence fragments and complete sentences within an individually listed item or the list itself.
  • LLC, LLP – no periods.
  • login – a one-word noun vs. two-word verb, i.e., a login to log in.
  • Lydia Moss Bradley Award

M

  • Major League/Minor League – capitalize when using full Major League Baseball/Minor League Baseball in reference to the specific organizational governing body (Major League Baseball player draft) as well as in reference to specific leagues (American League, National League, Midwest League, etc.); do not capitalize generic references to the leagues, e.g., major league hitter, minor league organization.
  • Master of Business Administration (or MBA) – established in 1948; See "Executive MBA” entry.
  • master’s degree – note possessive and lowercase; Master of Arts and Master of Science capitalized with no possessive.
  • Markin Family Student Recreation Center; also Markin Center.
  • Marty Theatre
  • MBA, MSA, MFA – degrees don’t use periods.
  • Meri-N-Ettes – dance team that began in 1959 and existed through 1991; beginning in 1992, the team had various names, with Bradley Dance Team most common; however, the Bravettes dance team was first mentioned in 2007.
  • Meyer Jacobs Theatre
  • Michel Student Center; Student Center acceptable on second reference.
  • military titles – may be abbreviated before the person’s name; otherwise spell out, e.g., Gen. John M. Shalikashvili ’58 was the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs; Shalikashvili was a general in the U.S. Army.
  • Monetary Award Program (MAP) grants
  • months – abbreviate Jan., Feb., Aug., Sept., Oct., Nov., Dec., when using a full/partial date in text, e.g., Jan. 2, 2010, Sept. 5; otherwise spell out when using alone or with a year alone, e.g., November 1980, or in invitations/notices. Do not use a comma to separate the month and year.
  • more than – preferred term when indicating greater numerical value; over acceptable for limited use.
  • Move-in Day
  • mid-70s – note use of hyphen, no apostrophe with mid.
  • multi-activity court (MAC) – at the Markin Center.
  • Mund-Lagowski Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry

N

  • names – full name, first and last, on first reference; last name is preferred on all subsequent references unless multiple persons with same last name in piece, then use both first and last names to distinguish the reference. First names also may be used in Class Notes in Bradley magazine. Do not use a comma before or after suffixes Jr., Sr., II, III, e.g., Ray Smith Jr. spoke at the event; Ray Smith II spoke at the event. See “initials” entry.
  • nicknames – use alumni preferred names, rather than place them in quotes after legal first name, e.g., Jim Crone ’02, not James “Jim” Crone ’02. Only use quotes when nickname is something other than a proper name, e.g., Tom “Top” Tawoda '78.
  • nonprofit – most “non” words are one word.
  • Nothdurft, Orville – class of 1935 member of the Men's Tennis program who served a lengthy tenure as the Faculty Athletics Representative.
  • numeral symbol – use No. 18 or #18, depending on context; 10th annual, 10th lowest cost.

O

  • office titles – capitalize when listing full proper name, e.g., Office of the Provost; lowercase when abbreviating, e.g., provost’s office.
  • Olin Quad
  • OLLI – acronym for Osher Lifelong Learning Institute, established in 2008; from 1994 to 2008, it was the Institute for Learning in Retirement (ILR).
  • online – one word, no hyphen or space.
  • Orsborn, Chuck – class of ’39 four-sport student-athlete and Bradley’s Athletic Director from 1965-78.
  • OSF Saint Francis Medical Center
  • Owens Atrium, Nick and Nancy – at Renaissance Coliseum.
  • Owens Professional Development Center – Rm. 116 in Westlake Hall.

P

  • Panhellenic
  • Parents’ Board, Parents’ Weekend
  • pastime
  • PC – stands for “Professional Corporation” (common for law firms); often without periods, but check the individual firm name.
  • Peplow Pavilion, Gary and Judy – ballroom in Alumni Center; balcony referred to as terrace.
  • PEO – women’s group that goes only by initials.
  • Peoria NEXT
  • Peoria Public Schools District 150 – note the “s” on Schools.
  • percent – symbol is now acceptable on all references.
  • Ph.D. – proper abbreviation for doctoral degree; use after faculty name instead of Dr. before name; Dr. only acceptable when individual holds an advanced medical degree, such as physician, dentist, optometrist, osteopath, podiatrist or vet.
  • phone numbers – use hyphens, e.g., 800-447-6460.
  • Practice House, the; also known as Winchip House. Used by home economics majors.
  • Pre-Law Center
  • Pre-Professional Health Advisory Center – former name; is now called the Health Professions Advising Center.
  • Presidents Scholarship – capitalize when specifically referencing Bradley’s scholarship; no apostrophe on Presidents.
  • problem solving, problem-solving ability
  • professor – do not abbreviate; only capitalize if used with proper name, e.g., Caterpillar Professor of English.
  • Project Springboard

Q

  • quad – avoid generic reference since campus has several, e.g., Alumni Quad, Olin Quad, etc.
  • quotation marks – use smart (i.e., curly) quotation marks (“ ”) in standard copy, only use straight/dumb quotation marks (") to designate inches.

R

  • race – in general, do not identify a person by their race unless it is important to the story, e.g., significant or historic events – Barack Obama was the first black U.S. president. Be specific, i.e., Mexican American over Latino/Hispanic. Be sure to ask the subject what their preference is, when possible.
  • recognitions – quotes around proper names of honors, i.e., “Forty Leaders under 40,” “100 Best Companies to Work For,” etc.
  • Red & White basketball scrimmage
  • Renaissance Coliseum – “the” is optional.
  • residence hall – preferred over dormitory.
  • river front – “RiverFront” when referencing the Peoria downtown waterfront, one word with capitalized “R” and “F”; “Riverfront” when referencing Peoria downtown museum, one word with capitalized “R”.
  • Robertson, A. J. – former basketball, football, baseball coach and athletic director; nickname was Robbie.
  • Robertson Memorial Field House; Field House acceptable on second reference.
  • Robison Lecture
  • Russell-Chapin, Lori – co-director of the Center for Collaborative Brain Research; Professor in education, leadership and counseling.

S

  • Safety Cruiser
  • Saint Francis Medical Center College of Nursing – no OSF.
  • Scholar-Athlete – MVC honor, capitalize and hyphenate.
  • Shaheen Hall of Pride – in Alumni Center.
  • Si’s – historically popular bar on Farmington Road.
  • Six Sigma; Six Sigma black belt
  • Slane College of Communications and Fine Arts – note the “s” on Communications.
  • smart punctuation – curly form of quotation marks (“ ”) and apostrophe (‘ ’) vs. straight/dumb quotes (") used to designate inches and apostrophe (') used to designate feet.
  • Special Collections – capitalize when specifically referring to Bradley Library.
  • speech team, Bradley University (BUST)
  • spokesperson – not spokesman/spokeswoman.
  • Spring Break
  • spring semester, second semester
  • state names – use AP abbreviation style, not two-letter postal codes. Alaska, Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, Maine, Ohio, Texas and Utah should be spelled out. Note: when referring to Peoria, Ill., the state name is not necessary, e.g., He serves as an electrical engineer at Caterpillar Inc. in Peoria. However, include the state name for Peoria, Ariz.
  • Student Apartment Complex (SAC)
  • Steiner, Charley – also see “The Charley Steiner School of Sports Communication” entry.
  • STEM – science, technology, engineering and math education
  • street, avenue, etc. – abbreviate in Alumni Calendar; spell out without an address, e.g., The new building is across Main Street.
  • student-athlete
  • Student Center, the
  • superscript – do not use with numbers, i.e., 100th or 32nd.
  • Susan G. Komen – the Komen organization is acceptable on 2nd reference.
  • symbols – use only with names, not with regular words.

T

  • T-shirt
  • theater/theatre – use theatre unless it is part of a proper name (e.g., Guthrie Theater)
  • three-pointer – in basketball.
  • time – always use lowercase letters and periods when indicating time of day (i.e., 6:15 p.m. or 7:30 a.m.); times on the hour do not require a colon and two zeros after the number, e.g., 5 p.m., not 5:00 p.m.
  • titles – do not capitalize after names in standard body copy/paragraph form, e.g., John Jones, vice president of marketing, said; Do not use titles (Dr., Rev., etc.) in Class Notes; When alums’ titles are used elsewhere, do not boldface title, e.g., Dr. James Weinstein '72. However, when preparing formal lists for invitations, programs, etc., i.e., not in paragraph form, titles may be capitalized after names. See “doctoral degree” entry above for details on using Dr. versus Ph.D.
  • Top 100, Top 10 – capitalize when using with a ranking.
  • Toxqui, Aurea – Associate Professor of History; also teaches in women and gender studies program.
  • Tourette syndrome
  • Turner Center vs. School – be sure to reference the appropriate Turner-endowed entity as follows: Turner Center for Entrepreneurship is the outward-facing, off-campus small business center providing hands-on training for professionals, endowed winter 2011; Turner School of Entrepreneurship and Innovation is an academic-based, on-campus standalone unit enabling students from any discipline to study entrepreneurship, endowed fall 2012.
  • two-dimensional, three-dimensional (2-D and 3-D).
  • TV – can be used instead of television on any reference.

U

  • UnityPoint Health-Methodist or UnityPoint Health-Proctor (using a hyphen after “Health”); when referencing both entities together as one unit, it is UnityPoint Health-Methodist–Proctor, using a hyphen between Health and Methodist and an en-dash between Methodist and Proctor.
  • universitywide – acceptable in limited use, prefer across the university.
  • URLs – do not use “https://” or “www” prefix with web addresses, e.g., bradley.edu/magazine.
  • U.S. News & World Report – title of publication providing rankings is called “Best Colleges 20XX”; dropped “America's” with the 2011 edition.

V

  • Visit Day

W

  • Walmart Inc., Kmart, SUPERVALU INC.
  • Warner Bros.
  • Watonga Award – now Charles Orsborn Award.
  • web – short form of World Wide Web.
  • website – one word, lowercase
  • well-being
  • Westlake Hall – Room 116 is called Owens Professional Development Center.
  • Women’s Studies, director of – capitalize the “W” and “S” when specifically referring to Bradley’s program.
  • wordmark

Y

  • years – hyphenate as a modifier and use numerals with ages, e.g., 2-year-old building, 21-year-old student.

Z

  • ZIP code