The University of Florida generally follows Associated Press style for written communications, including posts on websites, text in brochures and news stories. We in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences follow suit.
The UF Office of Strategic Communications and Marketing has a handy style guide available here. Those in units across CLAS who update websites, develop brochures or write news stories will benefit from checking it out.
Here are a few elements of this that bear mention:
We don’t use the doctoral honorific before names. Proper style is Alberta Gator, Ph.D., rather than Dr. Alberta Gator. In a departure from AP style, UF also advises against the use of Dr. before the name of a physician, so it would be Albert Gator, M.D.
Professional titles before names are spelled out and capitalized, but not if they appear after a person’s name. So, it would be Associate Professor Albert Gator, or Albert Gator, associate professor of chemistry.
Capitalize the full, official name of an academic unit, such as the Department of Linguistics, but not when identified as the linguistics department.
For our college, on first reference, it is the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. CLAS is acceptable on subsequent reference.
The designation of interim is not considered part of a professional title, but rather a descriptor of it. We are currently led by interim Dean Kevin Ingersent.
AP style never uses italics. Book titles should receive quote marks. The names of journals and magazines are capitalized but otherwise receive no special treatment.
Headlines should be in sentence form, with verbs in the present tense, capitalizing only the first word in the headline and proper nouns.
Perhaps most controversial of all, UF now advises against the Oxford comma. The final item in a simple list should not be proceeded by a comma: no ifs, ands or buts.
Kathryn Pizzurro, editor in the CLAS Office of Communications and Media Services, is available to advise and welcomes suggestions for news releases and features.