Below you'll find a listing of proper LaGrange College usage and terminology. For issues not addressed here, the Communications and Marketing Office will default to current Associated Press style.
A
abbreviations and acronyms—Do not use on the first reference; instead, use the official name. An abbreviation may be used later if it would not confuse the reader. Avoid the overuse of abbreviations or acronyms so the reader is not burdened by an “alphabet soup.”
academic dean—The formal title is Vice President for Academic Affairs and Dean. See academic titles, administrative titles for capitalization rules.
academic degrees—Use lowercase bachelor’s degree or master’s degree for general purposes: bachelor’s degree in biology (unless referring to an LC degree, where it is uppercase), bachelor’s degree in English. Use uppercase for formal degree names: Bachelor of Arts in History, Master of Arts in Teaching. Use such abbreviations as B.A., M.A. and Ph.D. only when identifying many individuals by degree. When abbreviating a degree such as B.A. or M.B.A., be sure to use periods (Ed.S.) Also: an associate degree (no possessive).
academic departments—Capitalize the formal names of academic departments and programs: Education Department. Lowercase informal references: the department, education. In most instances in news releases, department names will be lowercase.
academic titles, administrative titles—Capitalize titles such as president, vice president, professor, chairman and dean when they precede or follow a name or when the title and name appear in a listing. In news releases, such titles will be lowercase when they stand alone or when they follow a name. Per Associated Press style, news releases will not include the title Dr. before a name unless referring to a medical doctor. Named professorships and chairs are always capitalized, either when standing alone or after the designees’ names: John Wesley, Ely R. Callaway, Sr., Professor of International Business; John Wesley, Fuller E. Callaway Professor of Music; Fuller E. Callaway Professor of Art and Design John Wesley.
administrative departments—The full names are capitalized: Registrar’s Office, Financial Aid Office. In most instances in news releases, such names will be lowercase.
Admission—Notice the lack of an s at the end of Admission in Admission Office.
adviser—Not advisor.
Alumni Association—LaGrange College Alumni Association on first reference. Alumni Association can be used on the second reference; it will be lowercase in news releases.
Alumni Office—Alumni and Community Relations is the official title.
alumnus, alumni, alumna, alumnae, alum—Generally, an alumnus (alumni is the plural) is a man who attended a school. An alumna (alumnae is the plural) is a woman who attended a school. Alum is a casual term for either a male or female. Use alumni when referring to a group of men and/or women who attended. Our college has about 10,000 living alumni.
a.m., p.m.—Lowercase and use periods in textual material. There is a space between the figure and a.m. or p.m.: 10 a.m., 10:30 p.m. Notice the lack of :00 on 10 a.m. Avoid redundancies such as “We met in the morning at 9 a.m.” Note: 12 noon or 12 midnight is redundant. Simply use noon or midnight.
annual—An annual event is one that has been held two successive years. First annual should be strictly avoided.
Athletic Director—Not Director of Athletics. See academic titles, administrative titles for capitalization rules.
B
Baxter, Susanna—Dr. Susanna Baxter is the 26th president of LaGrange College and the second woman to officially hold that post. She began her service on July 1, 2020. Generally, use President Susanna Baxter on first reference; Dr. Baxter or President Baxter on second reference. Biographical information can be found at www.lagrange.edu/president
Board of Trustees—Capitalize when referring to the formal LaGrange College Board of Trustees or the Board of Trustees. Subsequent references can be the board, trustees or board members. In news releases, Board of Trustees will be lowercase when standing alone.
buildings—See "Buildings and Landmarks" for a list of LaGrange College buildings.
C
Cabinet—Capitalize the term for the body of advisers to the president, except in news releases: Cabinet or President’s Cabinet.
Callaway Campus—Refers to the southernmost portion of the campus (below Lamar Dodd Art Center) donated to the college by Callaway Foundation, Inc., in 1992. Use of this label can confuse visitors; include only when referring to the historic gift and the property’s origins. If you must differentiate between geographic portions of campus, Hilltop campus and south campus are the preferred references.
Callaway Education Building—Do not use Callaway Educational Building.
Callaway Foundation, Inc.—“The” does not come before the name, and Inc. always is preceded by a comma.
Capitalization—For specific rules, see a specific topic in this style guide. For example, academic degrees, academic departments, academic titles and administrative departments.
Challenging the mind. Inspiring the soul.— A previous college tagline (note the periods).
Chair—When mentioning the head of an academic department, use chair rather than chairman or chairwoman. Chair, chairman or chairwoman may be used for the head of a committee, task force or other group.
Chapel—In referring to the building or the services held therein, Chapel is always capitalized, even in the case of an adjective: Chapel service.
Chapel Bell—Capitalize both words. (as in "ringing the Chapel Bell")
Class of …—Class is capitalized when referring to the graduation year of a particular LaGrange College class: Class of 1958 (except in news releases).
College—When referring to LaGrange College as the college, do not capitalize it.
Columns—The name of LaGrange College’s magazine for alumni and friends. For postal regulations, it officially is known as LaGrange College Columns, and is usually published three times a year by the Communications and Marketing Office.
committee—Capitalize the full names of committees: the Cultural Enrichment Committee. Lowercase shortened and informal versions: A committee on academic integrity will meet.
company names—Abbreviate company, companies, corporation, incorporated, limited when a business uses one of these words at the end of its proper name, but spell out if the designation comes within the name: Ford Motor Co., Delta Air Lines, Inc. Use a comma before Inc. or Ltd., except when preparing an article for the media, in which case the comma is deleted.
D
dates—Do not use a comma between the month and year, or season and year, unless a specific date is given: The semester system began in fall 1999. A comma follows the year when used with a month and day in textual material: The holiday will be celebrated on Jan. 21, 2004, at LaGrange College. Also, spell out months when they stand alone or appear with a year: November 1999.
Dean—See academic titles for capitalization rules.
Dean’s List—Capitalize unless it is being included in a news release.
Degrees—See academic degrees.
Distinguished Service Alumni Award, Shackelford Alumni Achievement Award — The Distinguished Service Alumni Award is presented at commencement exercises. Note that Alumni and not Alumnus is used. The Shackelford Alumni Achievement Award is presented at Homecoming.
Dr.—This academic title is used in college publications to refer to those who have obtained a doctoral degree. It is not used in news releases per Associated Press style, which reserves that label for medical doctors.
drop/add—Not drop-add, or drop add.
E
email—Not e-mail or e mail
F
Fellow—Uppercase this honorary designation denoting outstanding achievement or service: She is a Fellow of LaGrange College. He is a Fellow of the American Psychological Association. LaGrange College Fellows have made cumulative gifts of $50,000 or more to the college.
First Lady—Always uppercase when used in reference to the wife of the college president. It is considered a job title.
first-year student—Use instead of freshman when possible.
fraternities, sororities—The full, formal name should be used on the first reference: Pi Kappa Phi. Avoid use of nicknames, but abbreviations are acceptable, such as AOII. Avoid use of the word sorority after the name since many are actually chartered as fraternities: Phi Mu not Phi Mu sorority.
G
GA., Ga., Georgia—Associated Press style dictates that the abbreviation for the state of Georgia is Ga. The U.S. Postal Service delivery address code for Georgia—but not for use elsewhere— is GA. See the entry for states.
Georgia’s oldest private college— Founded in 1831 as a women’s academy, LaGrange College can properly be identified with this terminology.
givathon—Not give-a-thon Greek—Use it capitalized in reference to fraternities and sororities.
H
the Hill—A nickname for the college’s campus; note the lack of quotation marks.
home page—Not homepage, Homepage or Home page.
Homecoming—Capitalize when referring to LaGrange College’s annual alumni event (except in news releases).
HOPE scholarship—Georgia residents who maintain a 3.0 average may receive $4,178 annually in HOPE funds to attend LaGrange College. HOPE stands for Helping Outstanding Pupils Educationally.
I
italics—For college copy, never italicize or underline the titles of books, periodicals, chapters, articles, etc. As appropriate, use quotation marks as directed by Associated Press style.
J
Jr., Sr., III, IV, etc.—When preparing an article, do not use a comma to separate a name from Jr., Sr., III, IV, etc.
L
LaGrange College—Not La Grange College (no space between “La” and “Grange”).The preferred usage for image purposes is to spell out LaGrange College rather than using LC or LaGrange. On a second reference, acceptable terms are the college, LaGrange and, sparingly, the institution or Georgia’s oldest private college. LC is normally reserved for athletic, alumni and more casual references.
LaGrange College logo—Digital copies of the college logo (the "bridge mark") and wordmark (which features "LaGrange" with the stylized A) can be obtained from the Communications and Marketing Office. Rules for usage are found in the Visual Identify Program guidelines.
Leadership Council—Capitalize when the formal name is used; in news releases, lowercase the council. This volunteer group’s mission is to advance the college, and it selects three annual priorities on which to focus its attention.
lectures—Put the full title of lectures in quotation marks: The subject of his lecture is “A Passion for Poetry.”
M
McAlexander, Dan—Served as 25th president of LaGrange College. He retired on June 30, 2020.
N
Nick Allen Pavilion—Correct name for the shelter in the picnic area near the tennis courts and beach volleyball courts on the south end of campus.
O
Outstanding Young Alumnus Award—The award goes to someone who graduated from LaGrange College within the past 10 years and who has been distinguished in his or her career and community, and has brought honor to the college. It is normally presented at Homecoming, with the first being awarded in 2014.
P
Panthers—Capitalize the LaGrange College mascot. Women’s teams are not referred to as Lady Panthers.
The college became officially co-ed in 1953. At the request of the students, intercollegiate teams were formed during the 1954-55 academic year. It appears that the school mascot was chosen by a vote of the student body during the organizational time of the teams.
The first costumed mascot appeared in 1986 – that first black Panther costume was made by house mother Glenda Turner. A second black Panther mascot made his debut in 1993. A third Panther costume was purchased in 2000.
A big change came in 2013 when the color of the mascot was changed to red and a professional costume was commissioned. More than 500 name suggestions were submitted before the name “Pouncer” was chosen by a naming committee consisting of students, faculty, staff and alumni. The new mascot, Pouncer, was introduced before an enthusiastic crowd in May 2013.
phonathon—Not phon-a-thon
president—See academic titles for capitalization rules.
Price Theater—Not Theatre. However, the program is referred to as Theatre Arts.
professor—The term professor is used very specifically; it is not a generic term for anyone teaching at the college. It should be used only in reference to those who have official status as full professors. Other designations are associate professor, assistant professor, adjunct professor and instructor. See academic titles for capitalization rules.
Q
Quadrangle—Capitalize when referring to either the Murphy Academic Quadrangle or the Residential Quadrangle on campus.
Quadrangle Society—The Quadrangle Society was established in 1994 to recognize those persons who have provided for LaGrange College through a planned gift.
quotation marks—As a general rule, use periods and commas inside quotations marks. For more Associated Press guidelines regarding punctuation, consult the Communications and Marketing Office.
R
Rev.—When this description is used before an individual’s name, precede it with the word “the,” because, unlike Mr. and Mrs., the abbreviation Rev. does not stand for a noun; therefore, it also is acceptable to refer to someone as the Rev. Dr. Exception. Rev. without "the" is acceptable in lists and tabular material.
S
SACS COC—Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges on the first reference; the acronym without periods may be used on subsequent references. When referring to the college’s official accreditation by this body, the following statement must be used: LaGrange College is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges to award baccalaureate and master’s degrees as well as the educational specialist degree. Contact the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges at 1866 Southern Lane, Decatur, Georgia 30033-4097 or call 404-679-4500 for questions about the accreditation of LaGrange College.
servant-leadership—not servant leadership
semesters—Lowercase. No comma precedes the year: fall semester 1999.
Scroll—The student literary magazine
Shackelford Alumni Achievement Award—Recognizes alumni who have distinguished themselves in their chosen professions and in their communities. Normally presented each year at Homecoming.
Speakers Bureau—Do not use an apostrophe.
Sports Hall of Fame—New members are typically inducted into the LaGrange College Sports Hall of Fame each Homecoming. Established in 2001, the Sports Hall of Fame honors those individuals who have helped bring recognition and prominence to the college through athletics.
states—In LaGrange College publications and news releases, the names of the 50 U.S. states should be spelled out when used in the body of a story, whether standing alone or in conjunction with a city, town, village or military base. No state name is necessary if it is the same as the dateline. This also applies to newspapers cited in a story. For example, a story datelined Providence, R.I., would reference the Providence Journal, not the Providence (R.I.) Journal.
In the body of stories: Except for cities that stand alone in datelines, use the state name in textual material when the city or town is not in the same state as the dateline, or where necessary to avoid confusion: Springfield, Massachusetts, or Springfield, Illinois. Provide a state identification for the city if the story has no dateline, or if the city is not in the same state as the dateline. However, cities that stand alone in datelines may be used alone in stories that have no dateline if no confusion would result.
Abbreviations required: Use the state abbreviations listed at the end of this section:
- In lists, agate, tabular material, nonpublishable editor’s notes and credit lines.
- In short-form listings of party affiliation: D-Ala., R-Mont. See party affiliation entry for details.
- Eight not abbreviated: The names of eight states are never abbreviated: Alaska, Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, Maine, Ohio, Texas and Utah.
Following are the state abbreviations (postal code abbreviations in parentheses):
Ala. (AL), Ariz. (AZ), Ark. (AR), Calif. (CA), Colo. (CO), Conn. (CT), Del. (DE), Fla. (FL), Ga. (GA), Ill. (IL), Ind. (IN), Kan. (KS), Ky. (KY), La. (LA), Md. (MD), Mass. (MA), Mich. (MI), Minn. (MN), Miss. (MS), Mo. (MO), Mont. (MT), Neb. (NE), Nev. (NV), N.D. (ND), N.H. (NH), N.J. (NJ), N.M. (NM), N.Y. (NY), N.C. (NC), Okla. (OK), Ore. (OR), Pa. (PA), R.I. (RI), S.C. (SC), S.D. (SD), Tenn. (TN), Vt. (VT), Wash. (WA), W.Va. (WV), Wis. (WI), Wyo. (WY) and Va. (VA).
These are the postal code abbreviations for the eight states that are not abbreviated in datelines or text: AK (Alaska), HI (Hawaii), ID (Idaho), IA (Iowa), ME (Maine), OH (Ohio), TX (Texas), UT (Utah). Also: District of Columbia (DC).
Use the two-letter Postal Service abbreviations only with full addresses, including ZIP code.
Punctuation: Place one comma between the city and the state name, and another comma after the state name, unless ending a sentence or indicating a dateline: He was traveling from Nashville, Tennessee, to Austin, Texas, en route to his home in Albuquerque, New Mexico. She said Cook County, Illinois, was Mayor Daley’s stronghold.
Headlines: Avoid using state abbreviations in headlines whenever possible.
Miscellaneous: Use New York state when necessary to distinguish the state from New York City. Use state of Washington or Washington state when necessary to distinguish the state from the District of Columbia. (Washington State is the name of a university in the state of Washington.)
student-athlete—Notice the hyphenation.
student handbook—Called the Student Handbook
T
titles—See academic titles, administrative titles.
U
the United Methodist Church—Don’t capitalize the.
V
vice presidents—Below are the official titles of college vice presidents:
Vice President for Academic Affairs
Vice President and Dean of Students
Vice President for Enrollment
Vice President for External Relations
Vice President for Finance and Operations
W
Waights G. Henry Jr. Leadership Award—is the correct title for the honor given to the most outstanding graduating student at commencement.
Wall of Outstanding Alumni—Alumni are added to the Wall of Outstanding Alumni each year at Homecoming. Included in the display in Smith Hall are the president of the Alumni Association, the most recent Distinguished Service Alumni Award winner and current Shackleford Alumni Achievement Award recipients.
WWW—Short form of World Wide Web. In later references, the web is acceptable. But website is one word and lowercase. Also, web page, web browser.