How to address a Professor (original) (raw)
| How to Address a Professor, Assistant Professor, or Associate Professor_* Dr._ is used as an honorific if the person has a doctorate: Dr. (name). Mr./Ms. is used if an individual does not hold a doctoral degree: Mr./Ms. (Name) * Anyone holding any of the graded ranks of professor (professor, associate professor, assistant professor, etc.) may be addressed orally as Professor or Professor (Name).* Graded levels of professor, e.g., assistant professor or associate professor, are not used orally and are seldom used in written direct address. They most often appear in publications and on lists where the specific hierarchial position is pertinent.Envelope, official: _(Full name) (post nominal for degrees held) (Address)_Envelope, social: Dr./Mr./Ms. (full name) (Address)Letter salutation: Dear Dr. (surname): Dear Professor (surname): FYI, here is what's come in to the Blog that relates to this office/rank. For recent questions sent in, check out Robert Hickey's Blog. For specific offices/ranks, check out Robert Hickey's On-Line Guide. May I Use Professor Dr. (Name)? Dear Mr. Hickey, In Europe, university professors use the honorific Prof., or Prof. Dr., in (semi-) formal social context. Is it ever acceptable for Americans to do so in the US? It might be valuable to distinguish oneself from a medical doctor. Thank you, **David Uslan, PhD Associate Professor of Astronomy University of (State)**Dear Dr. Uslan, In the UK they have a tradition of using every honorific, courtesy title, and rank one is entitled to. Their name is their resume ... their curriculum vitae. So, you see names written ... as you note: Professor Dr. David Uslan You even see: His Excellency the Reverend Captain Sir David Uslan, PhD The Germans do it too: Ambassador Professor David Uslan, General Dr. David Uslan etc. In the US we have a simplified tradition of just using the one honorific, courtesy title, or rank -- usually choosing the one that is pertinent or is the preference of the bearer. For example the former US Senator from Tennessee, Bill Frist, was an MD and a US Senator. He preferred to be Dr. Frist to Senator Frist, but was never Senator Dr. Frist. In your case I'd say that traditionally you would be Professor Uslan -or- Dr. Uslan in the classroom. David Uslan, PhD on a letter mailed to your office (post-nominals with official correspondence) or Dr. David Uslan on a holiday card mailed to your home (honorific with social correspondence). I had another Q&A that was similar, FYI. -- Robert HickeyHow to Address a Retired Officer Who Is Now A Professor? Would you by any chance know the proper form of address for a USN Captain who is now a university professor with a PhD? I read the note on your website regarding context (Captain when he's my commanding officer, Doctor when he's bandaging my foot, or something to that effect), but I wonder what would be suitable with an academic doctor, and in a more formal usage. I've encountered "Captain Doctor [name]" once or twice on the Internet, but it seems a bit of a mouthful. _--- P. L. Scott_Dear Mr. Scott: I cover this on page 99 in my book. 1) Re: "Captain Doctor": As a In the United States we only use just one honorific at a time. Orally on in a salutation he would be Dr. (name), Professor (name) or even Captain (name), 2) Retired officers are entitled to use their ranks socially. But usually when they take another job in retirement, they use forms of address that support the subsequent job -- like the form I provide for professor. So, ask him his preference. He may use both at various times, but he'll clarify what he prefers when in his professorial role. -- Robert HickeyHow to Address a Professor Who is Also a Pastor ? How would one address the envelope to a reverend with a PhD who is a professor at a Christian university? Should I use The Reverend Dr.? The Reverend PhD? -- Gail Ann in Michigan Dear Gail Ann: In the USA we follow a simplified form when addressing someone with multiple roles in their life ... in the manner appropriate to the role they are to us at the moment. Therefore, if you are contacting him as clergy use: The Reverend Luther Heritage (Address) Dear Dr. Heritage Addressing him as a professor use: Luther Heritage, PhD (Address) Dear Dr. Heritage As an example of someone else who hold more than one title is Colin Powell -- who was a United State Army General and subsequently the Secretary of State. As a retired U.S. Army General he is entitled to be addressed as: General Colin Powell, USA, Retired And as a former Secretary of State, an post appointed by The President and approved by the US Senate, he is forever entitled to: The Honorable Colin Powell He is either .... but never both .... so he is never: The Honorable General Colin Powell -- Robert Hickey When Does a Law Professor Use Esq.? When Does a Law Professor Use JD? When does one become an esquire, and when does that status end? What about law professors who might not keep their licenses active? Is the "Esq." credential acquired upon receiving a law degree, or does it not take effect until they have been admitted to a state bar? -- D.Y.U. APR, Stetson University College of Law, Tampa, FL Dear D.Y.U.: USE OF JD vs. Esq. Today one when graduates from law school, one is typically granted a Juris Doctor or JD. A graduate from a law school, when wanting to include his or her degree would write: (Full Name), JD When you are addressing a practicing attorney use the traditional form of address for a practicing attorney in the US: (Full Name), Esq. {I have a note above in How Do I Write My Name as an Attorney? about why attorneys are addressed as Esq.} Addressing a professor who also practices might be either depending on what is pertinent. *** JD's in an academic context (teach at a university) use JD .... following the tradition within academia to use academic degrees. You should use JD on official correspondence to an academic just like you would PhD or MD. *** While most academics holding a doctorate are addressed as Dr. in oral conversation or a salutation, law professors are not**.** Address as Professor (Name) [unless, of course, you know it the personal preference of the individual to be addressed as Dr.] *** If writing to a professor who also practices the law-- relating to his practice of the law in official correspondence -- address as a practicing attorney:(Full Name), Esq. *** If writing to a retired attorney, who is no longer be 'open for business' -- Esq. is not pertinent. If you are sending personal correspondence (a holiday card or anything social) to a law professor or a practicing attorney -- or to either when retired ... they are simply: Mr./Ms. (Name) Post nominals are not used on social correspondence. -- Robert Hickey |
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