Former Bakersfield College President William “Bill” Andrews, 65, passed away Jan. 20, succumbing to his short battle with cancer. Andrews served as president of Porterville College for five years before becoming BC’s president from 2005 until his retirement in 2008.
Glen Fields, BC gym manager, remembered Andrews as an accessible and effective president.
“He was just a great guy, and he had a great open-door policy. He would just walk around campus and talk with people,” said Fields. “And coming from Porterville College, he already knew how the system worked and could get things done.”
Although Andrews was only president of BC for three years, he accomplished many lasting things.
He guided BC through the extensive self-study and evaluation phases of the accreditation process for the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges.
He worked with Cal State Bakersfield to implement transfer education programs and helped to increase student access to employment programs. Also during Andrews’ reign, the Delano Campus opened its Science and Technology Building.
Andrews was born in 1946, in Marshalltown, Iowa, and was raised on his family’s farm near Melbourne.
He graduated from high school and Marshalltown Community College before beginning study at the University of Northern Iowa, where in addition to receiving two master’s degrees he met and married his wife of 44 years, Jean, in 1968. In 1973, she gave birth to twin daughters, Allyson and Amy.
After earning a Ph.D. in educational management from the University of New Mexico, Andrews worked in college administration in Iowa, Minnesota and Texas before coming to California.
After retiring in 2008, he and Jean moved back to the family farm near Melbourne, Iowa.