Q. I work for a theological seminary and am editing a brochure that has a list of speakers. If the speaker is an ordained minister or has a PhD, that is noted with a Rev. or Dr. However, there are a few speakers on this list who are just referred to by first and last name with no social title such as Mr. or Ms. I think this is incorrect, but I can’t find anything to support my position.
A. In academic publications, Chicago style does not use Mr. or Ms. with names or Dr. or Prof. for people with PhDs. It does allow the use of Rev. for ministers and Dr. for medical doctors. These styles are a practical solution to the difficulties of checking the gender, marital status, and academic degrees of every scholar mentioned in a book or article—who sometimes number in the hundreds. However, this doesn’t mean it’s incorrect for your publication to use whatever titles suit your community of readers.