ORONO – University of Maine professor Robert M. Milardo recently has been named a lifetime Fellow of the National Council on Family Relations. The council is the leading membership organization for family researchers, educators, policy makers and practicing professionals.

Milardo, professor of family relationships, was selected by his peers for the honor at the organization’s recent national conference.

Council Fellows are selected for their history of outstanding contributions to the field of family studies in areas such as published scholarship, innovative and influential teaching, development and implementation of significant interventions to promote healthy family relations, and a consistent record of superior contributions to the council over time.

Milardo’s research and writing have contributed important research designs and theoretical insights in the areas of relationship development, the role of social networks in the functioning of families, domestic violence, and the role of uncles in family life, according to council officials.

The announcement notes that “Dr. Milardo has contributed greatly to the development of the field through his own research and as an editor or co-editor of volumes that have brought together the work of others in a specific area (“Families and Social Networks,” 1988) or that provide major reviews of literature in a variety of areas (“Handbook of Personal Relationships,” 1997; and “Family as Relationships,” 2000).”

A specialist in kinship and social networks, Milardo currently is researching on generativity, examining how an adult concern for future generations is expressed in relationships between uncles and aunts and their young nieces and nephews.

The uncle-nephew research – the first of its kind – suggests that uncles supplement the work of parents and often are sought out by parents to provide nephews with advice and sometimes criticism, and to act as intergenerational buffers, interceding in conflicts and providing both parents and nephews with insight and a unique perspective.

Milardo reported his findings in the article “Generative Uncle and Nephew Relationships,” published in the December 2005 issue of the council’s Journal of Marriage and Family.

Milardo has been active in council work and leadership for more than 25 years, and was editor for the Journal of Marriage and Family 1996-2001. This position also brought distinction to UMaine as the home of the national publication’s editorship.

Milardo developed and carried out a plan in 2000 to expand the issue to include a special set of broad papers addressing the general progress of the field in the 20th century. The results are expected to become classics, and are published as “The Decade in Review: Understanding Families into the Next Millennium.” Milardo continues to serve on the journal’s editorial board.

In addition, Milardo has chaired the council’s research and theory section, helped establish the feminism and family studies section, served on the board of directors and been an active member of the publication committee.

Milardo, who lives in Newburgh, earned a doctorate in human development and family studies from Pennsylvania State University and has been a UM faculty member since 1982.