Jennifer had always called me "sexypants" as a kind of silly inside joke. Well, some of my students added me on Facebook, and I don't keep anything up there they shouldn't see, so I accepted. Well, they saw where she called me "sexypants" and took it to the next level, and when they were among friends, I had been given the nickname "Professor Sexypants" around campus.

It eventually got back to me, and I laughed about it with the girl who came up with the name. I didn't care. If I had, I would have never accepted their friend request in the first place.

When I was in college I had a professor, Dr. Harris, who was a mentor to me. I took a lot of classes from him and he helped me achieve success. I always called him Dr. Harris. I still do even though I'm a graduate and we have a friendship. I, perhaps like you, was thwapted if I did not refer to someone by title. I say "Yes sir and ma'am" even to peers. This, of course, makes them uneasy. It is just my show of respect.

That said, I don't in any way feel uncomfortable when they call me Adam or, as sad as this might sound, Ferrel. I would not "correct" them, so to speak. Tone means more than the word to me.

If you're comfortable with students calling you your first name I say you stick to it. As long as you're conscious of the dangers of favoritism you will do your best to avoid the behavior.

@Tesh I had a professor who told us not to call him Dr because "He didn't have a PhP and it upset the overly sensitive doctors who did!" He was awesome!

I won't lie that it's hard to get 100% into that role since I am so new to the role. I'm still used to being a student, so the competitive/qualitative nature of grades determining my importance and status is still there. It still cracks me up to see faculty run around confused during conferences. We're the ones who are supposed to know what's going on, right?!

@Longasc: That's actually one of the reasons German is my language of choice for foreign language studies. I love the formal/informal use of words as well as the utterly perfect way one can say absolutely anything in German just by stringing the language together. I love the English language; I think it's beautiful and nuanced, but I wish I were more fluent in German because I think that ideas can be more easily and eloquently expressed in German.

I personally favor the split personality approach. One was "Dr. X" at university, but when met outside or in a bar where he used to be, he offered us to use his first name.

I am opposed to the first name approach. Not because of the good intention of the professor, but because of silly students. Give someone a finger, and they believe you are their best buddy and either treat you not respectful or demand too much from you.

German is even more difficult in regards of respect, as we have "Sie" and "Du" instead of just "You". The first one is more formal and respectful, while "You" is something you have to "offer" to someone before it is not an inappropriate affront and intrusion into privacy.

I also think one can have a warm-hearted and good communication with someone without having to use the first name.

BTW, most german universities except those of the Bundeswehr (Army) and some private institutes leave it up to the professor to decide how he communicates with his students.

I had one professor who made it a point to note that he is a professor, not a teacher. He professes about what he knows, and whether or not we are taught is up to whether or not we chose to learn. Call it semantics, but it reinforced to me that he was doing his best, and that he was not placing himself on a pedestal as the ultimate arbiter of knowledge by placing the onus of learning on our shoulders as students. I never addressed him by first name, but that's just me; he wasn't opposed to it. He and I did share more than a few joking moments, sometimes during class when nobody else understood a clever bit of wordplay or an allusion. (Like "pontificating about the pope".)

My favorite professor asked to be addressed by his first name. He found the formality to be deleterious to what he wanted to do with his program. He saw his job as a professor as that of a mentor, rather than a perpetual superior. He openly admitted that his training was that of another era (his is an architectural degree, but he runs the computer animation program), and that he *wanted* us to surpass his abilities. He spoke of generalities and industry practices, and told us to push the technology and our own abilities.

It's hard not to love a guy like that, who knows that he has something to offer, but who wants us to go beyond what he can teach us. To me, that's the point of education, and to see a tenured professor embrace it so wholly has had a substantial impact on how I see the profession. It's part of why I'd love to work as a professor, actually.

And yes, I'll answer to almost anything in that role, because I would just be one guide of many, a guy who can answer a handful of questions, a guy who wants to see my students be far more than I ever could be. It's not unlike how I see my role as a parent. I want my children to outgrow me, to reach heights that I've not been able to. The fleeting pride that comes from maintaining superiority doesn't hold a candle to the joy in a job well done. Serving is far more satisfying than being served.