Quickly - how to address a faculty member with the title of "Lecturer?"

[randombetch]

Is it inappropriate to call them "Professor ____" and should I stick with "Dr. ______?"

I'm writing an email to the person teaching this course I'm taking and I was wondering if it'd be okay to just call them "professor ______." Thanks!

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[JJMrK]

No to prof. If they have a PhD, Dr. ____ is fine. If not, I'd probably go with Mr./Ms.

 

[apumic]

Depends on school culture.... If a PhD (or PsyD, JD, MD, etc.) "Dr" is probably best. Otherwise, Mr./Ms. unless school culture (norm) dictates "professor" (which many do).
Basically... go w/ whatever s/he introduced him/herself as.

 

[JJMrK]

Depends on school culture.... If a PhD (or PsyD, JD, MD, etc.) "Dr" is probably best. Otherwise, Mr./Ms. unless school culture (norm) dictates "professor" (which many do).
Basically... go w/ whatever s/he introduced him/herself as.

That's probably good advice.

It can be awkward when they introduce themselves by their first name, though.

 

[randombetch]

I haven't met him yet! I'm sending an email asking what textbook we're using.

And yes, he's a PhD...

 

[BlueElmo]

Professor or Dr should either be fine. They probably won't care either way.

 

[Bernoull]

Prof or Dr. will do, just to show deference, I don't think you need to get technical )Lecturer VS Professor Emeritus)

Anything except Hi John/Mary, which I did during my sophomore year. I thought I was close with a young Prof, and started calling her by her first name..... I don't know what I was thinking, she sent me an email asking me to address her as Prof or Dr. I apologized and moved on, it was embarrassing but I needed to be put in my place though...

 

[apumic]

Prof or Dr. will do, just to show deference, I don't think you need to get technical )Lecturer VS Professor Emeritus)

Anything except Hi John/Mary, which I did during my sophomore year. I thought I was close with a young Prof, and started calling her by her first name..... I don't know what I was thinking, she sent me an email asking me to address her as Prof or Dr. I apologized and moved on, it was embarrassing but I needed to be put in my place though...

Haha... I actually called my Dean by his first name once my jr yr! lol... oops. I'd gotten so used to hearing my voice teacher call him "John" that when I saw him after a concert, the words just sort of came out of my mouth: "Hi John, that's for coming." He was happy to see me and didn't seem to mind but I felt so bad! (He's an extremely laid-back kind of guy and I knew him fairly well as a fairly senior student worker/manager in the school of music so I doubt he was hiding any feeling of disrespect, but it still felt wrong, haha.)

 

[TDX]

Prof or Dr. will do, just to show deference, I don't think you need to get technical )Lecturer VS Professor Emeritus)

Anything except Hi John/Mary, which I did during my sophomore year. I thought I was close with a young Prof, and started calling her by her first name..... I don't know what I was thinking, she sent me an email asking me to address her as Prof or Dr. I apologized and moved on, it was embarrassing but I needed to be put in my place though...

I've actually had the exact opposite happen a number of times...

At this point, I've just accepted that no matter what I call them, at the end of the day they'll still end up asking me to call them something else

 

[clifftacopter]

I'd actually prefer to use Professor in this instance, but that may just be the culture of my school. If a PhD is teaching a class, we always address them as professor regardless of their actual standing. Either way, though, I don't think it's a big deal, just do what you're more comfortable with.

 

[ygree001]

For doctors (PhD or MD) , use Dr., otherwise professor.

 

[Danae00]

.

 

[misterp]

I would definitely address the person as "Professor." I had a professor in college who everyone kept calling "Dr." and it made her uncomfortable, as she didn't have a Ph.D.

 

[Moonglow]

The rule is "Professor" for anyone with a PhD in any academic situation.

 

[JJMrK]

The rule is "Professor" for anyone with a PhD in any academic situation.

That probably doesn't hurt to show respect, but it's not a hard and fast rule. We actually have a lot of lecturers here with PhD's who go by Dr. ____ and a few with MS's who go by Mr./Ms. _____ or just their first name. No one calls themselves a "professor" here unless they actually hold that title.

 

[Tutmos]

Professor without a doubt. I don't think it really matters which school either. Eventhough the person isn't an actual professor yet, they're going to get a warm fuzzy by hearing it. If they think you should call them something else they'll tell you but I would opt to err on the upside, to understate their station, on the other hand, would be insulting.

 

[MrCheetah]

Professor without a doubt. I don't think it really matters which school either. Eventhough the person isn't an actual professor yet, they're going to get a warm fuzzy by hearing it. If they think you should call them something else they'll tell you but I would opt to err on the upside, to understate their station, on the other hand, would be insulting.

Professor if he/she does not have a PhD/MD or you are not sure if he or she does. Doctor otherwise.

 

[randombetch]

Haha, I just went with professor, and I think I'll keep doing so... Seems appropriate since he's the sole PhD teaching my course.

Thanks for the responses.

 

[austinap]

Professor typically is the more respectful term for PhDs, especially at larger academic institutes.

 

[loveoforganic]

more respectful than... doctor? Never knew! I always went with professor for MS's and Dr. for PhD's.

 

[insane]

Prof or Dr. will do, just to show deference, I don't think you need to get technical )Lecturer VS Professor Emeritus)

Anything except Hi John/Mary, which I did during my sophomore year. I thought I was close with a young Prof, and started calling her by her first name..... I don't know what I was thinking, she sent me an email asking me to address her as Prof or Dr. I apologized and moved on, it was embarrassing but I needed to be put in my place though...

Professor Emeritus is just a retired professor lol.

 

[dw2158]

I haven't met him yet! I'm sending an email asking what textbook we're using.

And yes, he's a PhD...

and you're obsessing enough to come to SDN and ask about it?

sorry for laughing. but come on, as long as you don't blatantly disrespect them, no one's going to get mad at you for what you put in an email about a textbook.

 

[JoshUNCW]

The rule is "Professor" for anyone with a PhD in any academic situation.

Here we call pretty much everyone with a PhD "Dr. Whatever". They have a doctorate. They've earned the title Dr in an academic setting (and outside).

 

[JoshUNCW]

and you're obsessing enough to come to SDN and ask about it?

sorry for laughing. but come on, as long as you don't blatantly disrespect them, no one's going to get mad at you for what you put in an email about a textbook.

Also agree with this. Acting a little neurotic.

 

[jvesco22]

and you're obsessing enough to come to SDN and ask about it?

sorry for laughing. but come on, as long as you don't blatantly disrespect them, no one's going to get mad at you for what you put in an email about a textbook.

👍 x10

In any event. He'll respond with something along the lines of

Yours Truly
Dr. McDreamy

or

With Love,
Professor Xavier

 

[Procyon]

I always use Dr. If they have a PhD, then it's the right choice. If they don't have a PhD, then you end up making them feel like they do have a PhD and it probably makes them happy. 🙂

 

[austinap]

Here we call pretty much everyone with a PhD "Dr. Whatever". They have a doctorate. They've earned the title Dr in an academic setting (and outside).

There's the rub. At least in the more prestigious academic institutions, it's much harder to earn a professorship than it is a PhD. For example, where I'm currently at there are a thousand people in my building with a PhD, but <100 of them are professors. (There are also no professors without a PhD, so that isn't a problem, at least here.)

Nobody is going to get upset if you call them "Dr. Whatever" though.

 

[b-real]

Depends on school culture.... If a PhD (or PsyD, JD, MD, etc.) "Dr" is probably best. Otherwise, Mr./Ms. unless school culture (norm) dictates "professor" (which many do).
Basically... go w/ whatever s/he introduced him/herself as.

Attorneys, by convention, do not use the title of "Dr."

 

[akinetopsia]

I think it's a little overboard. Formality and showing respect/deference to your professors/lecturers/instructors is important, but in an e-mail? Keep e-mails concise, and like other people have said, use Dr. if they have a doctorate (unless it's an attorney, and like the previous poster said, even though most attorneys have a Juris Doctor, they do not have the salutation Dr. So-and-so, instead they have Esquire at the end of their name if they prefer). Most likely an attorney isn't teaching your class unless you're in law school, business school, or they are retired/Of Counsel/etc.

"Dear Dr. Smith,

I know we haven't had lecture yet, but I wanted to ask you a question.

[Question].

Respectfully,

Student"

 

[TooMuchResearch]

If you haven't met the person, Dr. Smith is a pretty safe bet. If you're feeling adventurous, you could use Dr. Professor Smith. At my undergraduate institution, every professor I knew preferred to be addressed by first name, even in email. (One or two actually used nicknames.)

 

[orthomyxo]

So many of my professors have asked to be called by their first name that it can be hard to remember that not every prof appreciates that 😛

Thankfully the few times I've used a prof's first name without "permission" they never said a word or even gave me a strange look. It could have gone so badly though...

Professor or doctor is definitely the safe choice.

Am I the only one who feels SUPER awkward calling a professor by their first name? Especially after you just started the course/met them?

 

[randombetch]

and you're obsessing enough to come to SDN and ask about it?

sorry for laughing. but come on, as long as you don't blatantly disrespect them, no one's going to get mad at you for what you put in an email about a textbook.

Also agree with this. Acting a little neurotic.

You guys realize I'm going to be addressing him during class and office hours repeatedly throughout the entire semester, right? Why not learn what to call him now? Furthermore, I'm sure I'm going to be running into lecturers for the remaining 2.5 years of college and possibly the rest of my life as an academic, you think it's stupid to ask how to address my future teachers and colleagues?

Who said anything about making him pissed off, or being blatantly disrespectful? I just don't want to be disrepsectful at all. I'm really not that neurotic.

 

[austinap]

You guys realize I'm going to be addressing him during class and office hours repeatedly throughout the entire semester, right? Why not learn what to call him now? Furthermore, I'm sure I'm going to be running into lecturers for the remaining 2.5 years of college and possibly the rest of my life as an academic, you think it's stupid to ask how to address my future teachers and colleagues?

Who said anything about making him pissed off, or being blatantly disrespectful? I just don't want to be disrepsectful at all. I'm really not that neurotic.

Dr. and Professor are both fine. Neither is at all disrespectful. If he tells you to call him by his first name, or any other name for that matter, it's OK to do so (maybe not in front of certain other people though).

 

[dw2158]

You guys realize I'm going to be addressing him during class and office hours repeatedly throughout the entire semester, right? Why not learn what to call him now? Furthermore, I'm sure I'm going to be running into lecturers for the remaining 2.5 years of college and possibly the rest of my life as an academic, you think it's stupid to ask how to address my future teachers and colleagues?

Who said anything about making him pissed off, or being blatantly disrespectful? I just don't want to be disrepsectful at all. I'm really not that neurotic.

wow. sorry for even bringing it up. i never really thought that hard about what to call my professors in college, regardless of whether they were lecturers, adjuncts, tenured, associates, or whatever. so i found it amusing that you would put this much thought into it. didn't mean to get you so riled up.