Gfilui

Is the informal Dr. <first name> something a starting academic should avoid?

As my father was Dr. <my last name>, I have, since receiving my PhD, cultivated Dr. <my first name>. A senior colleague recently advised me to stop: she called this unprofessional, and suggested that over time it would be a significant drain on my academic career. She went so far as to label this kind of informality a "professional cancer".

Context: I am an engineer and social scientist based in the USA, but I work with colleagues in Europe and Asia regularly.

While I feel that is hyperbole, I have discussed this with several trusted advisers. The responses have been polarized. Concerns raised include sacrificing respect, confusing personal branding (I have a memorable last name), and making more formal colleagues uncomfortable. Is this a real mistake I'm in the process of making? Is this a simple age division issue? Might the informal name actually be a benefit?

Going by "Dr. FirstName" is just confusing. If people aren't familiar with you, they will think it is your last name. If they do know you, it doesn't seem more casual, just odd.

It depends on the context and culture, but in the US it is standard to go by either "Dr. LastName" or just "FirstName." Like Solar Mike mentioned, a shortened form like "Dr. Initial" is sometimes used for students to refer to you.

One of my friends chose to have students call him "Dr. R" (R was the initial of his first name) - he had a huge amount of respect from the students and his colleagues : personally, it's not the name that garners respect, but the attitude, character and spirit of the person.

Do what feels right for you - respect is earned and not necessarily based on a title alone - IMHO...

I have some colleagues whose family name is almost never pronounced correctly by many nationalities (with students from over 90 different countries this is normal for us...), then some easy form of Dr and first name or initial is very common with no detriment to respect.

In the middle east and some other parts of Asia, it is standard to address someone this way (title + first name), including in academia.

There are multiple contexts in academia and what is suitable for one context doesn’t necessarily work for others.

1. For students, there’s great variation in what faculty prefer to be called - from first name only, to title only, to title and first name, to title and last name, etc. And this will differ between students in a large lecture class, in a seminar, grad students, lab students etc.




2. What faculty call each other in departmental faculty meetings may differ what faculty call each other in faculty senate meetings, etc




3. What faculty call each at academic meetings also varies greatly

If I were you, I’d feel free to ask students to call me Dr. Firstname as is your preference but to also keep this compartmentalized and go with the cultural norm in other settings.

This of course depends on cultural context (field, country, department), but you could simply go by your first name. To me, this would be much less odd. In my area (mathematics), I know several well respected people who are widely known and referred to by their first name. In one case, actually, she uses a shortened version of her first name!

There is no reason why you need to be referred to in the same way in every context. Some are naturally more formal than others and your relationship with some people is more formal than with others. One of the highly respected people I know is "Uncle Bob". I was often Dr. B. But my department chair would naturally be more formal and I wouldn't write any papers with that moniker as author.

Informality can often be good with students. But even then, not in all cases. If you need to admonish students and are normally referred to informally, using your complete name and list of titles can put the student on notice that they need to pay attention.

Of course, if you are in a very formal academic culture, you need to be more formal. Israel, for example tends to be quite informal, but I assume not in all contexts. Their prime minister is known by a nickname, for example. Germany, historically, was the opposite.

I would suggest, however, that for a young academic, building a career, being a bit more formal in public is probably the better way.

I have a doctorate. Well into our marriage right after my wife got hers my daughter happened to answer the telephone when a caller asked to speak to "Dr. Bolker". Without missing a beat she asked "which one?" Now she and her brother are Dr. Bolkers too and no one mixes us up.

Don't worry about sharing both the title and the name with your father.

I assume your Senior colleague is a member of your department. If so, you should follow this senior colleague’s advice. The norms of the department should supersede personal preferences, unless your personal preferences are strongly held. In this case, it seems like if you are ambivalent. Following the department norms will avoid confusion for students and others.

I would find it very weird to call myself "Dr. $FIRSTNAME". As the reason for your choice seems to be to avoid confusion with your father's name, how about using "Dr. I. $LASTNAME", where I. is the initial of your firstname. Over time, this would be your trademark of sorts; people who know the difference between you and your father will immediately know who is who; and people who don't know you or your father will at least guess with a high likelihood that you have done that due to a name clash, and not due to some (in)formal/casual issue.