Biographical Text
Professor Emeritus of Sociology and Social Work Fred A. Milano was born in 1942 in Coatesville, Pennsylvania. He received a B.S. degree in business administration from Pennsylvania State University, University Park, in 1963, majoring in accounting with a minor in economics. Following graduation, Milano was commissioned a second lieutenant in the United States Air Force. He served on active duty for five years (1963-1968) as a logistics officer assigned to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, and was promoted to the rank of captain. Milano was stationed at Chambley Air Base, France, and Athens Air Base, Greece. After completing military service, Milano enrolled at the University of Colorado, Boulder. In 1972 he graduated Phi Beta Kappa with a B.A. degree in sociology. Milano then entered Pennsylvania State University, where he earned his master's degree (1973) and his Ph.D. degree (1977), both in sociology. He served as an instructor of sociology at Penn State from 1974 to 1976. In 1976 Milano joined the faculty at Appalachian State University and rose to the rank of full professor. Dr. Milano taught the following undergraduate courses: Introduction to Sociology, Social Problems in American Society, Sociological Theory, Social Stratification, Sociology of War, Social Change, Political Sociology, Comparative Sociology, and Humans and Global Change. He also taught these graduate courses: Contemporary Social Issues, Advanced Sociological Theory, and Concepts in Sociology. A prominent, national veteran's organization credits Dr. Milano with teaching the first university course in the U.S. on the Vietnam War. Milano's professional memberships included the American Sociological Association, the Southern Sociological Society, the North Carolina Sociological Association, the Association for Humanist Sociology, the Popular Culture Association, the American Italian Historical Association, the Society for the Study of Social Problems, and the American Association of University Professors. During his career, he gave a total of seventy lectures and paper presentations at conferences held by these organizations. Some of Dr. Milano's publications are: • "Gulf War Syndrome: The Agent Orange of the Nineties." International Social Science Review, 2000. • "Teaching Sociological Awareness." The Humanist Sociology Resource Book, 1997. • "The Teaching of Corporate Culture." Visual Sociology, 1993. • The Other Side of War. Sixty-minute documentary film about women veterans of the Vietnam War, 1990. • "The Military Experience and Social Change in an Italian-American Community." Critical Realism and Sociological Theory, 1980. • "A World Perspective on Sociology." International Journal of Contemporary Sociology, 1976. As for special recognition, Milano received an Excellence in Teaching Award from the Department of Sociology and Social Work (1999); he was twice nominated for Outstanding Advisor for the College of Arts and Sciences; and he was a member of the North Carolina cultural exchange delegation to the Soviet Union (1990), Spain (1996), and the Netherlands (1999). In addition, he served for 14 years as faculty advisor to the Sociology Club (1987-2001). Dr. Milano and his wife, Edie, currently reside in Blowing Rock, North Carolina. After twenty-eight years of service at Appalachian State, Dr. Milano retired as professor emeritus of sociology in June of 2004. Sources: Appalachian State University files, personal correspondence, and long association. -Dr. Richard D. Howe
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