Air University awards first doctorate

Lt. Col. Tadd Sholtis, right, deputy director of public affairs at Headquarters Air Combat Command at Langley AFB, Va., is presented the Air University's first Maxwell-conferred doctorate degree Monday by Lt. Gen. David Fadok, right, as AU honorary degree recipient Tom Brokaw looks on. (Air Force photo/Melanie Rodgers Cox)

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Inaugural AU doctorate presented

Published Nov. 18, 2011
Air University Public Affairs

MAXWELL AIR FORCE BASE, Ala. -- Lt. Col. Tadd Sholtis, deputy director of public affairs at Headquarters Air Combat Command at Langley Air Force Base, Va., accepted the Air University's first doctorate degree conferred by a Maxwell-based institution.

AU's Air Force Institute of Technology at Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio, has been accredited since the mid-1960's to confer Ph.D.s.

Sholtis served with Army Gen. Stanley McChrystal, then commander, International Security Assistance Force and commander, U.S. Forces Afghanistan, and used his experience to develop a dissertation addressing strategy as public discourse.

His doctor of philosophy in military strategy is the first approved by the Department of Education as part of a federal program.

The doctorate degree program is anchored by the School of Advanced Air and Space Studies, allowing students to develop a dissertation while on active duty. This period of research and reflection is akin to a practicum or internship.

The official transcript date for the degree will be determined upon notification of Congress by the secretary of defense.

Air University awards first doctorate