My experience is entirely different from yours. "Associate Prof. X" is not a title. It'd be "Prof. X". In every context outside the university where a full p

My experience is entirely different from yours. "Associate Prof. X" is not a title. It'd be "Prof. X". In every context outside the university where a full professor would be called "Prof. Johnson", so would essentially every faculty member in my department. Including those who do not have a PhD. And yes, staff also refer to all instructional faculty as "Professor". This goes not only for my current institution (GMU), but for several other major universities with which I have had experience, as well as major conferences and other academic gatherings. I think it is the norm. Is it possible that you're seeing something else because of the culture stemming from a different area of academic study? I am in computer science.