Editorial

We are UMaine

An essential part of successful branding involves using consistent editorial style. Here you’ll find resources that outline official names for the university, colleges, departments and guidance for referring to the University of Maine System. You’ll also find brief descriptive general use text, a link to nondiscrimination notices for both print and digital publications, and guidelines for including Clery Report text on recruitment materials.

Official names


Acceptable shortened versions for “University of Maine”

Both men’s and women’s athletic teams are called the “Black Bears,” “Maine Black Bears” or “Maine.” The term “Lady Black Bears” is not acceptable.

  • UMaine
  • Maine
  • Maine Black Bears
  • Black Bears

It is not appropriate to use the following, or similar, names or acronyms when referring to the university:

  • UMO
  • University of Maine at Orono
  • UME
  • U. of M.
  • UM
  • UM-Orono
  • UMaine-Orono
  • UMe
  • U. of Maine

When identifying the location of UMaine in text, the preferred use has “Orono” preceding the University of Maine. For example: “…in Orono at the University of Maine.” When using the word “university” by itself in the body of a sentence (but referring to UMaine), the word “university” should not be capitalized. Example: “It is well known that the university has a beautiful campus.”

College names

  • College of Education and Human Development
  • College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
  • College of Earth, Life, and Health Sciences
  • Maine Business School
  • Maine College of Engineering and Computing
  • Honors College

Department names

When referring to a specific university department (and not the university itself), use the full name of the university followed by the department or unit name, i.e., the University of Maine Department of English.

For a copy of the full University of Maine style guide, contact the Division of Marketing and Communications, 207.581.3743, or view UMaine’s editorial style guide (Google Doc) online.

Descriptive text


The following text may be used when a short description of the university is required:

The University of Maine is the state’s land grant, sea grant, and space grant institution, with a regional campus at the University of Maine at Machias. Located in Orono, it serves as the flagship university of the seven-member University of Maine System. UMaine is responsible for providing world-class undergraduate and graduate education, basic and applied research, and outreach services to extend UMaine’s expertise and resources statewide to the people of Maine.

Equal Opportunity statement


Required nondiscrimination notices for UMaine publications are available on the web or by contacting the Equal Opportunity Office in Boudreau Hall, 207.581.1226.

Clery Statement


Printed or digital materials used for student recruitment are required to feature the Clery Statement:

Long version:
The Clery Act requires universities to disclose to prospective students our three-year statistics regarding campus crime, including public property within, or immediately adjacent to and accessible from the campus. This report includes our policies for campus security, such as those concerning alcohol and drug use, crime prevention, the reporting of crimes, sexual assault and other matters. A copy of this report is available on the web (umaine.edu/security) or by contacting the UMaine Police Department, University of Maine, 81 Rangeley Road, Orono, ME 04469-5794; 207.581.4053.

For posters and postcards:
umaine.edu/clery

University of Maine System references


The University of Maine System name bears a close resemblance to that of the University of Maine. To avoid confusion, it is helpful to refer to the University of Maine as “UMaine” after the first reference to it. The system can be abbreviated as UMS, but must not be called the UMaine System. Similarly, references to the other institutions in the system must not include the abbreviation “UMaine.”