Current practice (2015) calls for identifying the class years of alumni and students with a two-digit reference to the class to which they belong, followed by an initial indicating the school from which they received (or will receive) their degree if it’s from any unit other than Arts, Sciences & Engineering. Use an apostrophe (not an open single quote mark) to indicate that the first two numbers representing the century of the full class year have been elided.
References to a class year are not set off by commas, but use a comma to separate multiple class years and degree references.
For alumni publications, include the maiden name of alumnae who married after graduation to help identify graduates by the name with which they were known as students. For students who attended the University under their married names—for example, graduate students—including maiden names is unnecessary. Maiden names are not set off with parentheses or other typographical formatting.
Use parentheses to set off nicknames for alumni and students if it’s appropriate to indicate the informal name. In many circumstances, it’s acceptable to use a nickname or a more familiar version of a first name on first reference, but defer to the preferences of the person being referred to.
Except in formal presentations or where clarity requires it, avoid the use of middle initials when writing about members of the University community.
For those with more than one degree, list the degrees in the order that they were received, beginning with the earliest and ending with the most recent. For references to postbaccalaureate degrees, enclose the abbreviation for degrees in parentheses.
For those who have received terminal degrees (PhDs, DMAs, EdDs, etc.), an intervening master’s degree can be omitted if it was part of the coursework toward the terminal degree.
For units who are communicating with their own constituencies, using the initial to indicate an academic unit is often unnecessary.
Undergraduate
Arts, Sciences & Engineering
bachelor’s degree: ’55
Barry Meyer ’64 is the former chairman of Warner Brothers Studio.
Ed Hajim ’58 chairs the University’s Board of Trustees.
Patricia Wager Wheeler ’62, ’65W (Mas) is the author of Successful Tails: The Wonders of Therapy Dogs.
Eastman School of Music
bachelor’s degree: ’55E
Jeff Beal ’85E is an Emmy Award–winning composer.
Alexander (Sandy) Courage ’41E composed the opening theme for Star Trek.
Alice Pillischer Kujala ’48E taught violin for many years after graduation.
School of Nursing
bachelor’s degree: ’55N
Connie Lynn Leary ’59N is a nurse and nursing educator who taught at the Rochester School of Practical Nursing until her retirement in 1996.
Graduate
Arts, Sciences & Engineering
master’s: ’55 (MS), ’55 (MA), ’55 (Mas)
the late Galway Kinnell ’49 won the Pulitzer Prize for poetry.
doctorate: ’55 (PhD)
Wayne Knox ’79, ’84 (PhD) is a former director of the University’s Institute of Optics.
Eastman School of Music
master’s: ’55E (MM) ’55E (MA), ’55E (Mas)
Kate Light ’80E, ’82E (MM) is a violinist and writer.
Zeneba Bowers ’96E (MM) is a violinist, founder, and the artistic director of Alias Chamber Ensemble, based in Nashville, Tennessee.
doctorate: ’55E (PhD), ’55E (DMA)
Katharine Smithrim ’93E (PhD) is a professor of education at Queens University in Kingston, Ontario.
Kevin Puts ’99E (DMA) won the Pulitzer Prize in 2012 for his first opera, Silent Night.
School of Medicine and Dentistry
MD: ’55M (MD)
Frederick Parker Jr. ’58, ’62M (MD) is a professor emeritus and former chair of surgery at SUNY Upstate Medical University.
Trustee Paul Griner ’59M (MD) is a professor emeritus at the School of Medicine and Dentistry, where he also served as general director and CEO of Strong Memorial Hospital.
residency: ’55M (Res)
David Satcher ’72M (Res), is the former surgeon general of the United States.
master’s: ’55M (MS), ’55M (MA), ’55M (MPH)
Robert Scala ’56M (MS), ’58M (PhD) is the former senior scientific advisor of Exxon Biomedical Sciences Corp.
Stephen Cook ’07M (MPH) is an assistant professor of pediatrics at the School of Medicine.
doctorate: ’55M (PhD)
Bradford Berk ’81M (MD/PhD) served as CEO of the Medical Center.
Eastman Institute for Oral Health
postdoctoral certificate: ’55D (Pdc)
Jack Howitt ’56, ’62D (Pdc) is the founder and CEO of Midland Management, a real estate management firm.
School of Nursing
master’s: ’55N (MS)
doctorate: ’55N (PhD), ’55N (DNP)
Patricia Stone ’97N (PhD) is a professor of nursing at Columbia University, where she directs the Center for Health Policy and the doctoral program.
Simon Business School
master’s: ’55S (MBA), ’55S (MS)
Martin Stern ’79, ’80S (MBA) is a partner at K&L Gates, an international law firm with offices throughout the United States, Europe, and Asia.
doctorate: ’55S (PhD)
Marlene Puffer ’93S (PhD) is senior vice president of PIMCO Canada as a senior vice president.
Warner School of Education
master’s: ’55W (MA), ’55W (MS), ’55W (MAT)
Bakari Kitwana ’88, ’90W (MA), ’90W (MAT) is a leading scholar of hip-hop music.
doctorate: ’55W (EdD), ’55W (PhD)
Kathy Rideout ’95W (EdD) is dean of the University’s School of Nursing.
Honorary degrees
Note: only the University can award honorary degrees. The honors are not bestowed by individual academic units so should not be used with an initial to indicate a school.
’55 (Honorary)
Arthur Miller ’56, ’08 (Honorary) is a law professor at NYU.
Steven Chu ’70, ’97 (Honorary) is a former secretary of the Department of Energy.
Renee Fleming ’83E (MM), ’11 (Honorary) is a Grammy Award–winning soprano.
Ron Carter ’59E, ’10 (Honorary) is a Grammy Award–winning bassist.
Current Students
College
Jane Student ’15
Eastman undergraduates
John Student ’15E
Master’s and doctoral degrees
Refer to graduate students by the program and academic unit in which they are studying.
Jane Graduate Student is a doctoral student in the physics department.
John Graduate Student is working toward a master’s degree in economics.
Jane Graduate Student is a doctoral student in composition at the Eastman School.
John Graduate Student has enrolled in the MBA program at the Simon School.
Note: for references to class years from a previous century, it’s often preferable to include the full year. In such formulations, the word “class” is capitalized.
Francis Bellamy, Class of 1876, is credited with writing the Pledge of Allegiance.