External Relations

Names and Titles

Names and titles are those which are used to refer to specific persons and their roles.

Titles

Use capitals for titles prefixing names, but not for job desriptions. Note that some job descriptions are never used with names, such as "prime minister".

Though being president of the United States is important, President Kennedy always remarked on how vital his staff and aides were.

Give people’s title, forename and surname whenfirst mentioned. On subsequent mentions, use either surname only or title and surname (unless further information is required to prevent ambiguity), but be consistent. 

Dr Malcolm Strong has published some new research into how to make cars go faster. Dr Strong is certain he can build upon this work in future.

For internal staff, you should refer to them after first mention by first name rather than surname.

Use capitals when referring to the specific person holding a specific position and to their work in this role, but not when referring to any holder of that role unless it is a statutory position (there is only one of them).

The Head of School was very clear on the point, despite the fact that heads of school tend not to interfere in such matters.

Professor Karen Cox is the Deputy Vice-Chanellor of The University of Nottingham.

Postnominals

Remember that you do not need to list all awards, degrees, memberships etc held by an individual – only those items relevant to your writing.

The order for postnominals is:

  • civil honours
  • military honours
  • QC
  • degrees, in the order:
    • bachelors'
    • masters'
    • doctorates
    • postdoctoral
  • diplomas
  • certificates
  • membership of academic or professional bodies

Return to The University of Nottingham Style Guide