Usage and style particular to The College at Brockport are outlined in this section of the College Style Guide. It is meant only for College publications and should not be extended to journalistic or scholarly writing outside of the College.
At the College, the words “Department of ” always precede the specific academic department name on the first reference; in subsequent references, use either “department” (lower case), or “theatre,” or “chemistry,” etc. Try to avoid sentences such as, “The College at Brockport’s Department of English…” Making the College possessive in this way is often awkward, and should be reworded to say “The Department of English at The College at Brockport…”
The words "Office of" always precede the specific service office name on the first reference; in subsequent references, use either "office" (lower case) or the name of the office, "Community Development," Financial Aid" (upper case), etc.
The same goes for "Division of."
Right: Department of English
Right: He is studying the earth sciences.
Right: The Office of the President is inviting local leaders for a luncheon.
Right: The president’s office receives excellent media coverage.
Right: Advancement is raising funds for scholarships.
Wrong: English Department
Some examples are outlined below:
Department of Accounting, Economics, Finance and MIS (new 12/6/12)
Department of African and African-American Studies
Department of Biology
Department of Business Administration (changed 12/6/12)
Department of Chemistry
Department of Communication (never use plural, Communications)
Department of Earth Sciences (use plural)
Department of Kinesiology, Sport Studies and Physical Education (sport is singular)
Department of Modern Languages and Literatures
Department of Political Science and International Studies (always use full name)
Department of Theatre and Music Studies (new October 2012)
Department of Women and Gender Studies
Office of Alumni Relations
Office of Campus Recreation (changed from Office of Recreational Services, effective July 1, 2012)
Office of College Communications
Office of Community Development
Office of Intercollegiate Athletics
Office of Human Resources
Office of Marketing Communications (use plural)
Office of the President
Office of Procurement and Payment Services
Office of Registration and Records
Office of Research, Analysis and Planning
Office of Residential Life/Learning Communities
Office of Student Accounts and Accounting (formerly Bursar’s Office)
Office of Student Retention (make sure to use “Student”)
Office of Undergraduate Admissions
Exceptions
Career Services
Center for Excellence in Learning and Teaching (CELT)
EOC Student Life and Counseling
Financial Aid Office
First-year Experience Office
Grants Development Office
Library and Information Technology Services (Formerly Information Technology Services)
Printing Services
Recreational Services
Second-year Experience Office
Student Learning Center
Student Union and Activities (changed from Office of Campus Life, effective March 2012)
Transfer-year Experience Office
University Police
Welcome Center and Office of Parking and Transportation Services
If a person has more than one degree from The College at Brockport, place a slash between the class years. Example: John Brown ’55/’57 addressed the crowd.
alumna = feminine singular
alumnae = feminine plural
alumnus = masculine singular
alumni = male plural or general plural
The fundraising consortium at the College is known as the Brockport Foundation. Examples: The Brockport Foundation supports a variety of programs. The Foundation honored Bob O’Brien last March. (second reference with initial cap).
Use the official name of campus facilities with capitals in formal communication. On second reference, if the name is partial, you may shorten the name with the appropriate designation. On second reference when you use no proper name, lowercase hall, center, theater and building. Do not use building, hall and center interchangeably.
Right: Allen Administration Building houses the Office of Marketing Communications. The building is next to the library.
Our buildings and campus areas are officially
Albert W. Brown Building
Allen Administration Building
Alumni House
Bob Boozer Field
Brockway Hall
Burlingame House (President's Residence)
Chapman Service Center
Clark V. Whited Complex
Commissary Park
Cooper Hall
Dailey Hall
Drake Memorial Library
Edwards Hall
Educational Opportunity Center
Eunice Kennedy Shriver Stadium (formerly Special Olympics Stadium)
Harrison Hall
Hartwell Hall
Hazen Hall
Holmes Hall
House of Fields (large gathering space in the SERC)
Jim and John Vlogianitis Gymnasium
Lathrop Hall
Lennon Hall
MetroCenter
Morgan Hall
Neff Hall
Newman Oratory
Plateau Field
Rakov Center for Student Services
Raye H. Conrad Welcome Center
Seymour College Union
Smith-Lennon Science Center
Special Events Recreation Center (the SERC)
Student Townhomes
Tower Fine Arts Center
Tuttle North
Tuttle South
Union Square
Our residence halls
Benedict Hall
Bramley Hall
Briggs Hall
Dobson Hall
Gordon Hall
Harmon Hall
McFarlane Hall
McLean Hall
MacVicar Hall
Mortimer Hall
Perry Hall
Thompson Hall
Townhome Complex
Our theaters
Hartwell Dance Theater
Rose L. Strasser Studio (Strasser Studio on subsequent uses)
Tower Fine Arts Center Mainstage
Tower Fine Arts Lab Theatre
Our galleries
Tower Fine Arts Center Gallery (Tower Gallery on subsequent uses)
Tower Fine Arts Center Rainbow Gallery (Rainbow Gallery on subsequent uses)
Division of Academic Affairs
Division of Administration and Finance
Division of Advancement
Division of Enrollment Management and Student Affairs
In any publication, the very first reference should be “The College at Brockport, State University of New York.” Following the first reference, it is correct to use “The College at Brockport,” “Brockport” or “the College” (note uppercase College). However, if you are starting a new section in the text, you may want to use “The College at Brockport, State University of New York” again in the beginning. Don’t ever use “Brockport College” or “Brockport State,” or “SUNY Brockport.”
School of The Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences
School of Business Administration and Economics
School of Education and Human Services
School of Health and Human Performance
School of Science and Mathematics
The Graduate School
Email is not a proper noun, so unless it’s at the beginning of a sentence or used in a title, don’t capitalize the “e” and never capitalize the “m.” AP's acceptance of email reflects the reality of usage. Other e- terms, which aren't as widely used in daily discourse, are clearer with the hyphenated spellings. AP uses hyphens for e-business, e-commerce and others that abbreviate electronic.
Use italics to emphasize an email address in a printed publication:
Right: Jane Doe at jdoe@brockport.edu or (585) 395-5555.
"Emeritus" (Latin for "earned by service") is an honorary title used for professors who have officially retired.
emerita = feminine singular
emeritae = feminine plural
emeritus= masculine singular
emeriti = male plural or general plural
Right: Professor Emeritus Merrill Melnick but Merrill Melnick, PhD, professor emeritus
Right: Professor Emerita Sondra Fraleigh but Sondra Fraleigh, professor emerita
For some reason these two simple terms are often misused. This should help: Freshman can be used either as a singular noun or as an adjective; freshmen can only be used as a plural noun. Examples: Heather came to The College at Brockport as a freshman this fall. (n. sing.) She’s a member of the freshman Class of 2010. (adj.) She’ll be living on campus with other freshmen. (n. pl.)
The fundraising consortium at the College is known as the Brockport Foundation.
Right: The Brockport Foundation supports a variety of programs.
Right: The Foundation honored Bob O'Brien last march. (second reference with initial cap)
It’s one word. Hyphenate fundraising only when using it as a compound modifier or noun. Examples: Fundraising is difficult. Our fund-raising campaign was successful. They hired a fund-raiser.
It’s two words.
The Internet is a proper noun (trademarked for that matter), so always capitalize it.
The http:// prefix does not need to be used; www.brockport.edu/admissions/ug/ index.html suffices for a specific link on the College site (and it’s okay to split a site address on two lines); www.brockport.edu is the URL for our home page.
Use boldface to emphasize an Internet address in a written publication. Example: Applications for prospective students are available online at www.brockport.edu/apply.
The name of our home state is New York. It also is acceptable to refer to New York as “New York state.” Example: Most students are residents of New York state.
When you write photo captions for a group of people, do not use “Row 1, Row 2,” etc. Use “Front Row, Row 2,” etc., to “Back Row;” or “Bottom Row, Row 2,”etc., to “Top Row.” Use “l-r” for left to right, or “from left.”
Avoid dormitory or dorm. A residence hall is more than a place to sleep.
There is no apostrophe in either of these College events. It also applies to Veterans Affairs.
Do not use underlines in text to emphasize a word or phrase, or to designate a book/movie/ play title. To emphasize, use italics or boldface. For titles, use italics.
AP style is now website (one word, lowercase w), along with other compounds: webcam, webcast, webmaster. The Web is capped as a short form of World Wide Web, as are Web page, Web feed.
If a website address falls at the end of a sentence, use a period. If an address breaks between lines, split it directly after a slash or a dot that is part of the address, without an inserted hyphen.
Use bold font to emphasize a website address in a printed publication:
Right: Visit our website at www.brockport.edu.
Zotero (Education focus)
5 pm - 6:15 pm
Naturalization Ceremony
11 am - noon
Leadership Program Kick-off
3:30 pm - 5 pm
ADP Distinguished Speaker Series "The Audacity to Heal: Our Rape Culture"
7 pm - 9 pm
Faculty/Staff Campaign Kickoff
noon - 1:30 pm
