Butler Library

Best Practices: CAA Event Speaker Bio + Session Descriptions

Prepared by: CAA Marketing | Digital Initiatives and Outreach

Below, find best practices for when writing speaker bios and event session descriptions for Columbia Alumni Association (CAA) event microsites, Eventbrite registration pages, and Regional Club or Shared Interest Group web pages. Please email [email protected] with any questions. Thank you.

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  • Refer to the subject by last name on all subsequent references.

    • Donna MacPhee is a 1989 graduate of Columbia College. MacPhee is now president of the Columbia Alumni Association (CAA).
       

  • If a club, board, committee, etc., has an acronym, write it out on first reference, followed by the acronym in parentheses. On subsequent references, use only the acronym.

    • The Black Alumni Council (BAC) is hosting a dinner for recent alumni. The BAC organizes dozens of events each year.
       

  • Uppercase titles that appear before the subject’s name. If the title appears after the speaker in a sentence, lowercase it.

    • CAA President Donna MacPhee attended the event.

    • Donna MacPhee, president of the CAA, attended the event.
       

  • When writing a session description, lead with the action or the value-add to make the description both more active and exciting.

    • Rather than “At this session, attendees will have the opportunity to listen to members of the Board of Trustees…” something like, “University Trustees will share exclusive updates…”
       

  • When writing affiliations, put the last two numbers of the graduation year, followed by the School acronym. The apostrophe faces away from the numbers. Note: The CAA’s acronyms may be different from how specific Columbia Schools write their acronyms. [The CAA’s are: CC, BC, BUS, DM, GS, GSAPP, GSAS, JRN, LAW, NRS, PH, SEAS, SIPA, SOA, SPS, SW, TC, VPS]

    • Donna MacPhee ’89CC

    • Ruth Bader Ginsburg ’59LAW
       

  • The male singular of alumni is alumnus. The female version is alumna (alumnae plural.)

    • Columbia Law School alumnus Lee Bollinger

    • Columbia College alumna Donna MacPhee

    • More than 1,000 Columbia alumnae came together for She Opened the Door, the first University-wide women’s conference.
       

  • Keep speaker bios to under five sentences and session descriptions to under three sentences, if possible.
     

  • When referring to Columbia University, capitalize University. When referring to specific Columbia Schools (Columbia Business School, Columbia College, etc.) capitalize School.

    • Donna MacPhee made the most of her time at the University.

    • He served his School as a member of the Board of Visitors.