Editorial Style

Writing and Grammar Tips

• Avoid industry jargon.
• Capture and hold attention with subject matter that’s relevant.
• Keep communications simple and clear. Avoid overly long sentences. Get to the point. Focus early on University positioning, features, benefits and impact.
• Include a call to action, where appropriate.
• Use active voice.
• Know your audience.
• When listing things in a series, avoid using the serial comma before the conjunction unless needed to provide clarity.

Immaculata University

When writing in a professional context, use “Immaculata University.” When writing "University" as a stand-in for the full Immaculata University name, capitalize the "U."

Immaculata College was our name prior to August 2002. When referencing the University before 2002, refer to it as Immaculata University.

In a professional document, after first referring to the University’s full name, it can be switched to “the University” or to simply "Immaculata." In informal and/or internal communications, the University can be shortened to just “IU.”

The colleges within Immaculata are as follows:

• The College of Undergraduate Studies (CUS)
• The College of Graduate Studies and Research (CGSR)
• The College of Nursing and Health Professions (CNHP)

In general, use the full name of each college. Subsequent references may use the acronyms (CUS, CGSR or CNHP).

Official Campus Address

Immaculata University
1145 West King Road
Immaculata, PA 19345

Note: List the building and office number directly under the University name and before the street address.

Immaculata University
Lourdes Hall 212
1145 West King Road
Immaculata, PA 19345

Alumni, Faculty and Students

Leadership Titles

Below are the key leadership roles at the University and how to properly list their titles.

• President of Immaculata University
• President Barbara Lettiere ’72, MBA
• Vice President for Institutional Advancement
• Vice President for Finance and Administration
• Vice President for Student Development and Undergraduate Admissions
• Vice President for Communications and Marketing
• Vice President for Mission and Ministry
• Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost
• Dean of Students

In general, do not capitalize formal titles unless they are used directly before an individual's name. Lowercase titles when they are not used with an individual's name, or when they appear after the name: "The president led the meeting." "Patty Canterino, vice president for student development and undergraduate admissions, gave a presentation."

Forms of “Alumni”

• Alumni: plural, gender neutral
• Alumnus: singular, male
• Alumna: singular, female
• Alumnae: plural, female
• Alum/alums: gender neutral, informal context

Graduation Year / Education Level

Indicate graduation years with an apostrophe (not the prime symbol or a single quotation mark) before the final two numbers.

Undergraduate alum with no advanced degree:
Susan Smith ’17; Incorrect: Susan Smith '17, Susan Smith ‘17

Undergraduate alum with an advanced degree from Immaculata:
Susan Smith ’17, ’19 Ed.D.

Undergraduate alum with an advanced degree from another institution:
Susan Smith ’17, M.D.

Graduate alum with no undergraduate degree from Immaculata:
Susan Smith ’19 Ed.D.

Alum who received three degrees from Immaculata:
Susan Smith ’84, ’87 M.A., ’96 Ed.D.

After introducing someone by full name, use last name upon second reference:

“Terry Stevenson ’17 is a bright young student.”

AND

“Stevenson is a member of the men's soccer team.”

Capitalizations

Course Names

Capitalize the formal title of courses, such as "Students take Business Ethics and Introduction to Accounting." However, use lowercase in generic instances: "Students take business ethics and accounting courses."

Degrees

Do not use "Dr." before the names of individuals. Instead, note what doctoral degrees they hold: "Jean Shingle, Ph.D." or "Jean Shingle, who has a doctorate in biology."

Departments and Offices

In an official list, capitalize the full names.

• “Office of Campus Ministry”
• “the Office of Career and Professional Development”
• “the Department of Psychology and Counseling”
• “the Division of Nursing”

If referenced informally or not using the full name, use lowercase.

• “I’m heading over to campus ministry.”
• "Check with the career development office."
• "The psychology and counseling department offers five main programs."

Campus Events

The following events are campus staples that should always be capitalized:

• New Student Orientation (shortened as NSO); Always write out “New Student Orientation” before referring to it as NSO.
• Planting of the Ivy
• Reunion
• Rose Arbor Day
• Senior Ball
• Carol Night
• Involvement Fair
• Cotillion
• Block Party
• 100 Nights
• Accepted Students Day
• Amethyst Day

Media and Works of Art

Capitalize all words in a title other than:

• articles (a, an, the)
• prepositions of three or fewer letters (for, of, up)
• conjunctions of three or fewer letters (and, but, for)

Put quotation marks around things such as books, articles, albums or songs. Don’t put quotation marks around the titles of digital software or videogames. Don’t put quotation marks around the title of holy books, such as the Bible.

Time and Date

Days of the Week and Months

Always capitalize the names of the months and the days, but not the names of seasons or semesters (fall, spring, etc.).

Abbreviate the following months when used with a specific date: Jan., Feb., Aug., Sept., Oct., Nov., Dec.

When a phrase lists only a month and a year, do not separate the year with commas.

Times

Use numerals to express times except for noon and midnight. Use a colon to separate hours from minutes, but omit ":00": 10 a.m., 1 p.m., 3:30 p.m., 9-11 a.m., 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Decades

On an academic or otherwise professional level, use “the 1990s” (note there is no apostrophe). In a more casual format, use ’70s.

Capitalize names of decades and widely recognized epochs: the Roaring Twenties, the Dark Ages.

Capitalize popular periods of time: the Atomic Age, the Great Depression.

Lowercase the word “century”: the 18th century.

Athletics

Athletics is such a vital component of campus life and the comprehensive education students receive from Immaculata. The following information is provided to maintain branding and editorial consistency when referring to or writing about sports and/or athletics at the University.

Immaculata University is a founding member of the NCAA’s Atlantic East Conference and competes in Division III. The players are known as the Mighty Macs and their uniform colors are Immaculata Blue and white.

When referring to the athletic director, the title should be capitalized before the person’s name: Athletic Director Paul Murphy

The “e” in esports is not capitalized or hyphenated as per The Associated Press Stylebook 56th Edition.

Immaculata’s sports teams play in:

• Alumnae Hall
• Draper Walsh Stadium
• Draper Walsh Stadium Track
• the baseball stadium
• the softball field
• the tennis courts
• Mighty Mac Training Facility
• the pool
• Mighty Macs Esports Arena (capitalized because it’s a proper name)

Of historical significance are the women’s basketball national championships earned from 1972–1974. The teams played in the Association of Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW). The coach was Cathy Rush and a feature-length theatrically released movie, “The Mighty Macs,” chronicles the 1972 season.