Memories of Doster and Cowan Award Winner Don Andrews

Below is a summary of Don’s professional career that Joel Henderson penned at his family’s request.  However, I would be remiss if I failed to mention that Don was far more proud of his wife, three children, and nine grandchildren than any of these professional accomplishments.  Please join me in keeping Linda Andrews and the rest of her family in your thoughts and prayers.

Dr. Donald F. Andrews was a dedicated scholar and professor of American Literature and the English language.  He received his Associate of Arts, graduating cum laude, from Florida College in 1969 and his Bachelor’s degree in English in 1971 from the University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, where he also completed a Master’s in English in 1973.  Don completed his Ph.D. at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville in 1977 with an emphasis on eighteenth-century American literature.

Though Don began his teaching career with a three-year stint at the University of Louisiana-Monroe, he returned to Tennessee in 1980 as an Assistant Professor of English at Chattanooga State Technical Community College, where he remained for the next thirty-two years.  Don served the College both as a tenured professor of American Literature and Humanities and as an administrator.  For twenty-three of his thirty-two years with the College, Don capably served first as Chair of the Humanities Department and then as Dean of the Humanities and Fine Arts Division.  He was known in the Division as an ardent supporter of his faculty, a staunch defender of academic freedom, a dedicated proponent of student learning, and a trustworthy colleague and friend.  He was known, too, throughout the College for his reliability, his diligence, his professionalism, and his dedication to fair-play.

In addition to his roles as professor and administrator, Don was a first-rate scholar as well.  His involvement in professional organizations was extensive, particularly with his much-loved Two-Year College English Association-Southeast (TYCA-SE).  A member of TYCA-SE since 1983, Don worked tirelessly for the organization as both Treasurer and Chair to help develop it into the premier professional organization for two-year college English professors in the southeastern United States.  He was recognized by TYCA-SE in 2010 for his dedication to the profession with the presentation of the Cowan Award for Excellence in Teaching and in 2012 for his service to the organization with his receipt of the Bill Doster Distinguished Service Award.  Don was also heavily involved in the National Council of Teachers of English, the Conference on College Composition and Communication, the South Atlantic Modern Language Association, and the Two-Year College English Association of Tennessee.

Don’s greatest professional contribution was undoubtedly in his role as mentor to both students and colleagues. Whether in the classroom or in the conference room, Don was interested in the well-being and personal development of his students, his colleagues, and his friends.  Countless numbers through the years benefitted from his calm evaluation of their life situations and his sound advice on how best to proceed.  His interest and counsel helped his students and colleagues develop both professionally and personally, and his evident Christian faith and godly example provided those around him, regardless of faith background, with both an anchor and a touchstone for their own lives.  He will be sorely missed.


Jennifer M. Duncan, English Instructor
English, Arts, and Humanities Department at GPC Online

Funeral information for Don Andrews

Dear TYCA-SE Friends,

It is with great sadness that I report to you the passage of our dear friend, Dr. Don Andrews, Dean of the Humanities and Fine Arts Division at Chattanooga State Community College.  Many of you knew that Don had struggled with cancer for several years, and he finally succumbed to the illness this morning at around 7:30 am.  His wife, Linda, reports that he died peacefully in his sleep at Memorial Hospita in Chattanooga. 


The arrangements for Don's funeral are as follows:

Visitation: Heritage Funeral Home on East Brainerd Road from 4-8 pm, Tuesday, June 12
7454 East Brainerd Road  Chattanooga, TN 37421
(423) 894-2010

Funeral Services: Heritage Funeral Home, 11 am, Wednesday, June 13

Sympathy cards may be mailed to the Humanities Department of Chattanooga State for delivery to the family (4501 Amnicola Highway, Chattanooga, TN 37406)

Flowers can be delivered to Heritage Funeral Home, or gifts in memory of Donald F. Andrews, Ph.D. may be directed to support the Chattanooga State Community College College Writing Center can be made payable to the Chattanooga State Foundation, 4501 Amnicola Highway, Chattanooga, Tennessee 37406.