Miscellany
Advisor, adviser
We use the term advisor.
Alumnus, Alumni, Alumnae
Used as follows:
- alumna: a female graduate;
- alumnus: a male graduate;
- alumnae: more than one female graduate;
- alumni: more than one male graduate, but also used to refer to a group of male and female graduates
Areas of Study
The general areas of academic study should be referred to in the following manner:
- arts, humanities, and social sciences;
- business and economics;
- computing;
- engineering;
- forestry and environmental science;
- natural and physical sciences;
- technology
When used in text, refer to the Editorial Guide for wording and punctuation.
Biofuel
One word.
Birth date
Two words.
Bookstore
It is the Campus Bookstore.
Building list (with building numbers and abbreviations)
| 1 | Administration Building (Ad Building) |
| 4 | ROTC Building (ROTC) |
| 5 | Academic Office Building |
| 7 | Electrical Energy Resources Center (EERC) |
| 8 | Dow Environmental Sciences and Engineering Building (Dow) |
| 9 | Alumni House (Alumni) |
| 10 | Rozsa Center for the Performing Arts (Rozsa) |
| 11 | Walker Arts and Humanities Center (Walker) |
| 12 | Minerals and Materials Engineering Building (M&M Building) |
| 13 | Hamar House Counseling Center (Hamar) |
| 14 | Grover C. Dillman Hall (Dillman) |
| 15 | Fisher Hall (Fisher) |
| 16 | Widmaier House |
| 17 | J. R. Van Pelt and John and Ruanne Opie Library (Van Pelt and Opie Library) |
| 18 | U. J. Noblet Forestry Building (Noblet) |
| 19 | Chemical Sciences and Engineering Building (Chem Sci) |
| 20 | R. L. Smith ME-EM Building (MEEM) |
| 24 | Student Development Complex (SDC) |
| 25 | Sherman Field Press Box |
| 28 | Kanwal and Ann Rekhi Hall (Rekhi) |
| 30 | Little Huskies Child Development Center (Little Huskies) |
| 31 | Douglass Houghton Hall (DHH) |
| 32 | Daniell Heights Apartments |
| 34 | Memorial Union Building (MUB) |
| 37 | Wadsworth Hall (Wads) |
| 38 | West McNair Hall |
| 40 | East McNair Hall |
| 41 | Central Heating Plant |
| 42 | Facilities Management Storage |
| 43 | Lakeside Laboratory |
| 44 | Storage-Service |
| 50 | Gates Tennis Center (Gates) |
| 84 | Harold Meese Center (Meese) |
| 95 | Advanced Technology Development Complex (ATDC) |
Other Buildings
- Fire Hall, Houghton
- Ford Forest and Ford Center, Alberta
- IMP Storage, Houghton
- Keweenaw Research Center, Houghton County Memorial Airport (KRC)
- Citizen's Bank Building, Hancock
- UPPCO Building, Houghton
Also:
Ice Arena
It is the John J. MacInnes Student Ice Arena or the MacInnes Student Ice Arena.
Mont Ripley
It is Mont, not Mount. If you must abbreviate, Mt. is allowed.
Check-in and checkout
Check-in and checkout as nouns; check in and check out as verbs
Curricula vitae, curriculum vitae (both okay)
Classes
Michigan Tech refers to students as first-year, sophomore, junior, senior, and graduate students.
Class of 1976, or Class of '76.
Class work
Two words.
Course work
Two words.
cyberspace
Day of the week
Use the day of the week with the date
- in the same week, don’t need the date (Tech Today)
- otherwise: "Steve Rossi's retirement party is Friday, January 25."
Earth
Earth (the planet)
earth (soil)
ebooks, enewsletters, elearning
end user (n.)
end-user problem (modifier)
Emeriti
faculty (members) emeriti or emeriti faculty (members)
professor emeritus or emeritus professor
Be consistent.
Enterprise Program, but Enterprise teams
Equal opportunity statement
Michigan Technological University is an equal opportunity educational institution/equal opportunity employer.
It should appear on all publications going off campus.
Facilitate
Facilitate will be replaced with help or aid.
Fellow
Marcia has been named a Fellow with the Organization of List Editors of North America.
but,
The fellows of the unique (sic) society will meet Wednesday.
first-year students (no freshmen)
second-year students
etc.
Font weight
font weight for punctuation follows previous word
- Amanda Jones—one of the more underrated actors—was nonetheless an Internet sensation.
Freshman student-athletes (plural)
from 1984 to 1987 or
1984–1987
Fundraising
one word as a noun, verb, adjective.
Glenn D. Mroz
On first reference, refer to the president with his middle initial.
Glenn D. Mroz
home style (n.)
home-style cooking (modifier)
Homepage
Homepage: one word.
Honors, Honors Program
It is referred to as the Honors Institute.
Inclusive language
infomercial
Michigan Tech advocates using inclusive language in all instances. This includes gender-neutral language.
Preferred terms include gender, parent/guardian, partner/spouse, and child.
Also: spokesperson, chairperson, etc.
inpatient and outpatient (one word)
Honors, Honors Program
It is referred to as the Honors Institute.
Judgment
No 'e'.
jump-start (v.)
jump start (n.)
kickoff (n.)
kick off (v.)
Internet, web
Internet is capitalized; net is not. Similarly, web is not.
lakefront
lakeshore
lay out (v.)
layout (n.)
Log in, log out, log on, log off
two words as a verb. Login, logout, logon, logoff one word as a noun.
Life cycle (two words)
Lifestyle (one word)
Lifelong
Maiden Names
Joan A. (Smith) Jones
MasterCard
MasterCard
Mind Trekkers
Mission Statement
Our mission statement is—
We prepare students to create the future.
multiyear (one word)
Nondegree-seeking student
Nondegree-seeking student
noncore
off-site (adj., adv.)
Ombud
This is the new title.
Pre-health, pre-law, pre-vet, pre-dent, but: premed
rearview
Residence Hall
This is the preferred name for Wadsworth, McNair, and Douglass Houghton Halls, not dorm or dormitory.
runner-up (singular)
runners-up (plural)
Senior Design Program, but Senior Design teams
skill set
smartphone
snowmaking (one word)
staph
Lowercase, no italics.
summer session, not semester
takeaway
tee shirt or
T-shirt, either is okay
Theater/Theatre
The correct spellings follow:
McArdle Theatre
Student Theatre Association
Theatre and Entertainment Technology (BS degree)
Technical Theater (minor)
Theater Arts (minor)
Tune-up (n)
Tune up (v)
Twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, and 365 days a year
Utilize
Utilize will be replaced with use.
U.S. News & World Report's "America's Best Colleges"
But, Princeton Review's Best 373 Colleges
videoconferencing
videostreaming
Vision Statement
Michigan Tech will grow as a premier research university of international stature, delivering education, new knowledge, and innovation for the needs of our technological world.
Visa
Visa
Walmart
One word, no hyphen.
Web Page
Two words.
Website
One word, not capitalized.
Referring to websites in text:
- Referring to the url: facebook.com
- First mention of site and to emphasize that it is a website: Facebook.com
- After first mention in text: Facebook
Italicize web links in text.
On the website, click on Library Services, then Spaces and Places. Note punctuation follows the italics, too.
Under Quick Links, go to FERPA.
Work-study
Work-study as an adjective or noun.
Web Address
We still use www in text: www.mtu.edu.