April 1 marked the start of Emory’s new campuswide e-mail alias program, an effort to standardize all University e-mail addresses.

The new aliases, or e-mail addresses, will be displayed in the following format: firstname.lastname@emory.edu. Current Emory addresses tend to be a combination of an individual’s first initial and last name, most frequently a truncated version of a person’s surname.

An alias is an alternative and additional name for an e-mail account; it is not a separate e-mail account, but rather another address for existing accounts. Any e-mail sent to the new e-mail alias will be directed to a person’s existing e-mail account.  

“It’s more intelligible for people to use and still goes to your e-mail account. It truly is an alias and not a [separate] e-mail account,” said Olya Jerschkowsky, director of
technical services for the Information Technology Division (ITD). “The e-mail accounts you have now will not stop working; you now just have another e-mail address to use.”

First choice of e-mail aliases is based on position and seniority. Board of Trustee members, faculty, senior administrators and principal staff are the first groups slated to choose their addresses during the period of April 1 through May 15. Staff members can choose their aliases beginning May 15 and students will be able to select their aliases after Sept. 1. All alias information and applications are web-based and can be accessed at http://it.emory.edu/showdoc.cfm?docid=3150.

If faculty and staff members don’t choose an alias, one will be reserved for them and they will have the option to change it—within the allowable format—if desired. If their name already has been taken, various options are available, including the addition of a middle initial or use of a middle or nickname.

Jerschkowsky said it is important for users of Emory’s 30-plus e-mail services (many schools and departments work off their own e-mail servers; for example, Facilities Management e-mail addresses are alias@fmd.emory.edu) and those whose primary accounts are through private sources (America Online or Hotmail, for example) to make sure to establish a forward so their new Emory e-mail alias will forward mail to their primary account. If a forward is not enabled, all official University e-mail will be sent to the Emory e-mail accounts (those ending in emory.edu).To establish a forward, visit https://webmail.service.emory.edu/forward/forward.pl.

A user’s last e-mail alias will remain active for six months following adoption of the new alias, allowing time for users to notify people of the new e-mail addresses and to update listserv information.

Jerschkowsky said the benefits of this program, first developed last summer, are multiple. The new aliases create a professional image and also help ‘de-couple’ the relationship between a user’s network ID (used to log into a number of Emory enterprise services) and his or her e-mail address.

For detailed information about the project, visit the ITD homepage at http://it.
emory.edu, where links to all pages related to the new alias program are available.