Professor Andy was born in Maine and graduated from Rumford High School. He then earned a BA in history from Princeton University, focusing on the US Civil War. After teaching and coaching for two years at a prep school in Massachusetts, he continued his Civil War studies at the University of Maine and received an MA in 1993. That year he moved to Boulder to pursue a PhD in the history of US foreign relations from CU, which he completed in 1997.
His major publications include Andrew Young: Civil Rights Ambassador (2003) and Kenneth Kaunda, the United States and Southern Africa (2016) and numerous journal articles. His current project is a biography of hockey player Eric Weinrich.
Since 1998, Professor Andy has been a full-time history instructor at Front Range Community College. He has also regularly taught as an adjunct instructor at CU. He lives in Longmont with his wife Heather and their two children, Ellen and Zeke.