Air University grants David McCullough honorary degree Published Sept. 8, 2015 By Phil Berube 42nd Air Base Wing Public Affairs MAXWELL AIR FORCE BASE, Ala. -- In recognition of his accomplishments as a noted author and historian, Air University will award an honorary doctorate to two-time Pulitzer Prize winner David McCullough. McCullough will receive a Doctorate of Humane Letters degree during a ceremony Nov. 16, 2015, at Air Force Squadron Officers School's Polifka Auditorium. The recipient of numerous honors and writing awards, McCullough was awarded his first Pulitzer Prize for Biography in 1993 for Truman, a biography of President Harry S. Truman. His New York Times bestseller John Adams earned him a second Pulitzer Prize for Biography in 2002. McCullough's latest book, The Wright Brothers, gives the behind-the-scenes story of Wilbur and Orville Wright and is a No. 1 New York Times bestseller. Dr. Matthew Stafford, vice president for Air University academic affairs, said McCullough was a natural choice because of his extensive contributions to the understanding of "our collective past, but in particular for his superbly researched 2015 book, The Wright Brothers." "The Wright Brothers' Flying School, founded in the spring of 1910, marked the birth of airpower instruction in Montgomery, Alabama," said Stafford. "The cleared cotton field from which the Wrights flew would one day be home to Air University. So in many ways, McCullough has helped us reconnect with our 'founding brothers' - the origins of the developmental mission that propels the university today." Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, McCullough, a Yale University graduate, started his writing career as an editorial assistant at Sports Illustrated. In 1964, he was a writer and editor at the American Heritage, a magazine covering America history. His first book, The Johnstown Flood, became a bestseller in 1968. In 2006, President George W. Bush presented the historian with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian award. In 2004, the Air University Board of Visitors encouraged the university to enrich its university culture by awarding honorary degrees. The secretary of the Air Force approved the university to award honorary degrees in 2006. Former U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice was the first recipient of an honorary degree in 2008. Retired Air Force Col. Frank Borman, Gemini 7 and Apollo 8 astronaut and an instructor at the Air Force Test Pilot School, received the degree in 2009. In 2010, the degree was awarded to NASA Administrator and retired Marine Corps Maj. Gen. Charles Bolden and to former WWII prisoner of war and a founding father of modern aerobatics Robert "Bob" Hoover. Television news anchor and author of The Greatest Generation, Tom Brokaw, received the degree in 2011, and retired U.S. House of Representatives member Isaac "Ike" Skelton was awarded the honorary degree in 2012 for his contributions to the government and military education. By bestowing honorary degrees, Air University recognizes those who have made significant contributions to education, government, public service, civic and community affairs, industry and commerce and the arts, letters and sciences. To learn more about Air University, visit www.au.af.mil.