The son of former dean of the College George A. Andrews and Frances Kneeland Andrews (both US'07), David Andrews started his Principia education at age six and continued through the College, graduating in 1936 with a degree in math and physics.

The Andrews family built Hutchinson House, now the residence of the president of Principia College. The four Andrews brothers commuted daily to the Page Avenue campus carrying cans of milk from the country to the school dining hall.

David's first job out of college was as an Upper School housepop. His talents were employed in an evolving chain of teaching and administration: math teacher, coach, Lower and Middle School principal, and Upper School headmaster. During this time he acquired a master's and then a doctorate degree in education from Teachers College, Columbia University.

Appointed assistant to the president in 1958 and vice president a year later, Dr. Andrews became president of The Principia in 1961 with full responsibility for the academic and operating functions of both campuses.

In 1962 Dr. Andrews, a curriculum specialist, published Program Building for a New Independent Elementary School, a detailed how-to manual emphasizing the need to plan carefully and to establish such a school on a sturdy foundation.

David Andrews was widely known for civic and professional contributions. He won a Distinguished Citizen of the Year award from Piasa Bird Council, Boy Scouts of America (1987-88), having served as president of the local council. He was a board member of Pride, Inc., an Alton-area beautification organization, and chaired the Schools Committee of the Greater Alton Association of Commerce.

He was a member of the American Association for Higher Education and a member, and eventually president, of the American Association of Presidents of Independent Colleges and Universities. In 1966, he was founding member of the Mississippi Valley College Association, an idea exchange group among eight colleges in Illinois, Missouri, and Iowa.

After formal retirement in 1981, he and his wife Helen (Hance, C'38) continued to live in their home not far from the College front gate. David maintained an office in the Education Department, advised the Public Affairs Conference, taught "History and Lore at Principia" at Summer and Autumn Sessions, as well as a course on the teaching of moral values. Himself a fountain of anecdotes and observations, he also collected on tape oral recollections of Principia history. Mrs. Andrews has served continuously as Principia's decorating consultant and chairs the Principia Decorating Committee.

At the time of his passing in 1993, then Chairman of the Board Dawn Larmer remarked, "The many avenues which David Andrews found to show his understanding and appreciation of the Principia idea are legion. His leadership was strong, principled, clear, absolutely based on spiritual conviction.... Gifted in problem solving, intuitive in personnel matters, steadfast in the upholding of ethics and morals, David Andrews performed his vital roles with love, grace, humor, and intelligence.... With hearts full of love, we applaud his accomplishments."