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) Inaugural AU doctorate presented Air University Public Affairs 11/18/2011 - 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.