Last updated March 27, 2013.

This is a work in progress. If you have questions about style, grammar, or usage, contact David Etchison at 6-7744 or david_etchison@unc.edu.

The UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy and the University in general follows the Chicago Manual of Style Sixteenth Edition in matters of writing style, punctuation, and usage. Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary Eleventh Edition (available online at www.m-w.com) is the authority on spelling, capitalization, and hyphenation unless superseded by Chicago. Materials created for the media (such as press releases) should follow the style guidelines of the Associated Press.

The following is a much-abbreviated guide to style and usage covering topics that often crop up at the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy.

academic degrees: Do not capitalize degree names (doctor of pharmacy, doctorate in pharmaceutical sciences). Abbreviate without periods (BS, PharmD, PhD) and set off from a name with commas. To avoid turning sentences into alphabet soup, limit yourself to two advanced degrees after a person's name in running text. In most cases, only include terminal or professional degrees.  (e.g. Alex Tropsha, PhD; Kim Brouwer, PharmD, PhD). Do not include professional licenses or certifications (RPh, BCCP) with academic degrees.

adviser: This is the preferred spelling.

ampersand (&): Don’t use ampersands unless they are part of a company name (Proctor & Gamble)

and/or: Don’t use this awkward construction. It’s almost always one or the other (usually and).

backslash (/): Don’t us this as a substitute for a proper conjunction (and, or)

BSPharm: a bachelor's degree in pharmacy

Beard Hall: Named for John Grover Beard, the second dean of the pharmacy school.

capitalization: In general, only proper nouns are capitalized. Proper nouns are the unique names of individual people, places, and things. As an exception to capitalization rules, we capitalize School and Pharmacy when used to refer to the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy and University when it refers to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Job titles, whether formal or informal, are not capitalized unless the title is used as part of a person's name and they are addressed using the title. (The dean of the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy is Bob Blouin. The committee reports to Dean Blouin.)

capitalization of titles of works: There are very specific rules governing capitalization of the titles of publications, articles, seminars, and presentations. For simplicity's sake, capitalize all words in a title except articles (a, the), prepositions (of, in, about), and conjunctions (and, or, but, because). See 8.167 of the Chicago Manual of Style for a more thorough treatment of the subject.

Carolina: OK to use in reference to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill as long as the full name of the University is clearly used initially in a document or publication.

Carolina blue: PMS 278 is usually used as Carolina blue in most other print applications.

The blue used to print the logo is PMS 542 which translates into the following color models:

Web       #56A0D3 (updated July 2010)

Carolina Partnership: An $18 million fund created by Fred Eshelman and the University Cancer Research Fund to support the Schools research centers (IPIT, CNDD, CICBDD)

centers and institutes: There are two types of research centers at UNC: those house within schools and those that stand alone within the University. All of the centers associated with the School of Pharmacy are housed within the School. For this reason, they should not be referred to as a UNC center in running text. For example, use "the Institute for Pharmacogenomics and Individualized Therapy at UNC" instead of "the UNC Institute for Pharmacogenomics and Individualized Therapy." The affiliation with the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy should be made clear whenever possible.

Center for Integrative Chemical Biology and Drug Discovery

Center for Nanotechnology and Drug Delivery

courtesy titles: In general, courtesy titles (Dr., Mr., Mrs., Miss, Ms., Professor) are not needed in an anything other than personal correspondence (unless you write for the Wall Street Journal). To avoid confusing readers, the School does not use Dr. or professor as courtesy titles, preferring instead to give the subject's actual title and academic credentials just once in a particular article or work.

dash: See en dash and em dash.

Dr.: In general, the School does not use Dr. as a courtesy title in most materials. We have many different doctors in a University environment. In the School alone, we have PhD’s and PharmD’s, and you don’t have to go far to find the MDs and the DDSs. It is much clearer and more helpful to the reader to include the person’s actual degree, set off by commas, after the name the first time it appears (Betsy Sleath, PhD; Ralph Raasch, PharmD).

degrees: see academic degrees

doctor of pharmacy: abbreviated PharmD

e-mail: hyphenated

ECSU partnership: See UNC-Chapel Hill/ECSU Doctor of Pharmacy Partnership Program

em dash (—): This is what most people know as the dash. In Microsoft Word, you type CTRL + ALT + the minus key on the number pad. Word will often automatically create an em dash if you type two hyphens next to each other

en dash (–): Generally, an en dash is used to indicate a numerical range (1993–2005, 2:00–3:00 p.m.) In Microsoft Word, you type CTRL + the minus key on the number pad. It has a few other uses as well. Refer to the Chicago Manual of Style for more information.

Eshelman, Fred: In 2003, Fred Eshelman gave $20 million to the School of Pharmacy, at the time it was the third largest gift in the University’s history and the largest gift ever to a U.S. pharmacy school. He is executive chairman and founder of Wilmington-based PPD Inc. He committed an additional $10 million in 2008. The School was named in his honor on May 21, 2008. Eshelman has asked that his name appear as Fred Eshelman in all uses, including the professorships that bear his name. Eshelman is executive chairman of the Pharmaceutical Product Development, Inc., a Wilmington, N.C.-based company he founded.

fonts: Garamond is the standard font chosen by the University for most printed text and should be used for most School of Pharmacy materials produced in house. Avoid using “fun” fonts or fonts that are hard to read, such as script fonts.

Fred Eshelman Distinguished Professorship: At Eshelman's request, we do not include his middle initial in the name of the professorship. These are $1 million professorships.

George H. Cocolas Distinguished Professorship: A $500,000 professorship named for a long-time professor at the School.

GLP Bioanalytical Facility: GLP stands for good laboratory practices. Usually preceded with UNC.

health care: Two words when used as a noun (Pharmacy is a great field for those looking to work in health care.)

health-care:, Hyphenated as an adjective (Pharmacists are an important part of the health-care system.)

Howard Q. Ferguson Distinguished Professorship: This is a $500,000 professorship.

Institute for Pharmacogenomics and Individualized Therapy: See centers and institutes

Internet: capitalized

italics: Italics should not be used for emphasis. Use bold instead. Do not use bold italics. Italics is used for specific purposes. Titles of works (e.g. books, periodicals, movies, poems) should be italicized. Unfamiliar foreign words should also be italicized. Refer to the Chicago Manual of Style for more information.

John A. McNeill Distinguished Professorship in Pharmacotherapy: A $1 million professorship established by John A. “Sandy” McNeill Jr. in honor of his father.

K. H. Lee Distinguished Professorship: A $500,000 professorship established by the Pharmacy Foundation of North Carolina

Kerr Hall: Properly Banks D. Kerr Hall, Kerr Hall will suffice in almost all uses. Named for Banks Kerr, an alumnus of the School and founder of the Kerr Drug chain. Pronounced car.

lists, vertical—numbered, unnumbered, and bulleted

The following instructions should cover most uses:
1.    Vertical lists are best introduced by a grammatically complete sentence (i.e., a sentence that is still a sentence all by itself, without the help of the list), like the one above, followed by a colon.
2.    No periods are required at the end of entries unless at least one entry is a complete sentence, in which case a period is necessary at the end of each entry.
3.    Items in a list should be syntactically similar.
4.    If items are numbered, as they are in this example, a period follows each number, and each entry begins with a capital letter—whether or not the entry forms a complete sentence.
5.    Bulleted lists are considered appropriate mainly for instructional or promotional material and are treated the same as numbered lists in terms of capitalization and punctuation.
6.    A group of unnumbered items each of which consists of an incomplete sentence should begin lowercase and requires no terminal punctuation.
7.    If a list completes the sentence that introduces it, items begin with lowercase letters, commas or semicolons are used to separate each item, and the last item ends with a period; such lists are often better run into the text rather than presented vertically.

For more on this subject, please see paragraphs 6.127–30 in The Chicago Manual of Style.

logo: The University’s guide to the logo and stationery system (Graphic Identity Manual) can be found at www.unc.edu/designguidelines/. Unless printed by a commercial printer, the logo may only be reproduced in black or white. That means that the University does not allow the logo to be printed in blue using desktop printers. The correct color ink for the blue logo is PMS 542. The Web equivalent is #6699cc.  The logo is not art or decoration; it should be treated as a signature or official seal. Refer to the School's logo policy for more information, and please contact the Communications Office with any questions about logo use.

McNeill Family Courtyard: the central outdoor space between Beard and Kerr Halls

Mescal S. Ferguson Distinguished Professorship: This is a $500,000 professorship.

named spaces: Rooms and areas of the School that have been named should be referred to by their full name whenever possible with the room number included as a parenthetical reference. On second reference, shorten to last name and room name (Ferguson Auditorium, Curry Commons)

• W. Seymour and Rheta Holt Auditorium (1001 Kerr)
• Howard Q. and Mescal S. Ferguson Auditorium (2001 Kerr)
• Mary Lockwood Curry Student Commons (Kerr second-floor lobby)
• Ralph P. and Elizabeth Rogers Lobby (Kerr first-floor lobby)
• McNeill Family Courtyard
• Campbell Boardroom (101A Beard)
• Anderson Pharmacy Laboratory (202 Beard)

online: one word

partnership program: See UNC-Chapel Hill/ECSU Doctor of Pharmacy Partnership Program

percentages: The percent sign (%) should only be used in tables and graphs, never in running text. Do not spell out the number unless it begins a sentence (10 percent, not ten percent or 10%), and write percent after each number in a range (10 percent to 30 percent, not 10 to 30 percent).

pharmacy: Only capitalized if you are referring to the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy, not the profession or science.

PharmD: doctor of pharmacy

Pharmacy Foundation of North Carolina, Inc.

PhD

quotation marks: In general, quotation marks are used in two ways. They set off material that is a direct quotation of something someone said, or they indicate that the use of a word or phrase is ironic. In American usage, a period or comma always goes inside the quotes. (Bart told his teacher to “get bent.”) A question mark or exclamation point goes inside the quotes only if it is part of the quoted material.

research centers: see centers and institutes

school: Capitalize in all uses when referring to the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy.

SoP: Don’t use this abbreviation for the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy. Use School or Pharmacy or pharmacy school instead.

spin-off: Hyphenated as a noun and adjective

spin off: Two words as a verb

Tar Heel: two words. Typically used in reference to Carolina’s athletic teams and should not be used in an academic context. Okay for less formal usage. Always capitalized.

time: Use the abbreviations a.m. and p.m. Use an en dash (CTRL+Num Pad -) to indicate a span of time (8:00–10:00 a.m. or 10:00 a.m.–2:00 p.m.) in lists and tables. Use the word “to” instead of an en-dash in running text (The class is held from 3:00 to 5:00 p.m.). You may write noon or midnight instead of 12:00 p.m. or 12:00 a.m. but never 12 noon or 12 midnight. See also en dash.

titles, courtesy: see courtesy titles

titles, job: Professional titles are never capitalized when they are used alone or after a persons name. (The dean sent an e-mail. The chancellor stopped by.) This goes for farmer and soldier and for president and pope. If the title is used as part of the person’s name (you use the title when you address them), then the title is capitalized. (Dean Blouin sent an e-mail. Chancellor Thorp stopped by.)

trademark symbols: Although the symbols for registered and unregistered trademarks often accompany trademark names on product packaging and in promotional material, there is no legal requirement to use these symbols, and they should be omitted whenever possible

UNC-Chapel Hill: Never UNC-CH by directive of the chancellor’s office

UNC-Chapel Hill/ECSU Doctor of Pharmacy Partnership Program: This is the full name of the degree program partnership between the School and Elizabeth City State University. The name can be shortened.by doing any or all of the following: 1) removing -Chapel Hill, 2) abbreviating Doctor of Pharmacy as PharmD, and 3) removing Partnership. The shortest name allowable is UNC/ECSU PharmD Program.

UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy: This is our official name. It should usually be followed by at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill when writing for external audiences. UNC is currently part of the name even if followed by the University's name. Capitalize school when it refers to the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy. Pharmacy is capitalized only when it refers to the School (Beard and Kerr Halls are the home of Pharmacy). Do not abbreviate as SOP, ESOP, or UESOP. In summary, there is no acceptable shortcut or abbreviation of the name other than simply using School once the full name of the School has been used.

UNC Pharmacy Alumni Association

underline: Thanks to word processing software and desktop printers, we no longer need to use underlining. If emphasis is needed, use bold. If you are citing a book, periodical, or other work, italicize the title. Underlining is a relic of the typewriter that makes your text harder to read by interfering with descenders (the part of a letters j, g, p, q, and y that hang below the rest of a line of text). Note that many academic style guides still use underlining and not bold or italics.

Vaughn and Nancy Bryson Distinguished Professorship

videoconferencing, videoconference: one word. Video teleconferencing is redundant.

website

web page

World Wide Web