University Names

It’s important that we pay attention to how we refer to ourselves in our communications. Our audiences take their cue from us, and they’ll get a better sense of who we are if we use consistent language. By repeating one or two versions of our name, rather than many, we help build up brand familiarity and recall with a broad audience over time.

Here are a few guidelines to make sure we all stay on the same page:

Name Proper Usage
California Lutheran University

First mention
On the first mention use the full name, California Lutheran University, to establish our institution.

In digital communications, if the content directly follows a university logo, such as on a page of the university website or in an email with a department or office logo lockup as the header, then the first mention may be skipped.

Cal Lutheran

Second mention and beyond

For each additional mention, Cal Lutheran is the best way to abbreviate our name. Just remember that we never add “University” to the end. Cal Lutheran is correct; Cal Lutheran University is not.
CLU

Rarely, with familiar audiences
On occasion, we can use the CLU acronym when speaking with familiar audiences like students, faculty, staff, and alumni. But avoid using CLU for external audiences. People have a harder time understanding and remembering acronyms, and we don’t help establish our name by using one. When in doubt, use Cal Lutheran.

The exception to this rule is where characters are limited (e.g., social media account names), but try to use Cal Lutheran whenever possible.

Cal Lu

Casual situations, with familiar audiences

Cal Lu is a friendly nickname we use sparingly and only with familiar audiences like students and alumni. Avoid using Cal Lu unless the reference adds specific meaning or context to the communication.
DO NOT USE

Avoid using these variations of our name:

  • California Lutheran
  • Cal Lutheran University
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