Dr. Andrew Gibbs is a Professor Emeritus for the University of Arkansas Department of Theatre. His first degree was earned at the University of Connecticut where he received a B.F.A. in Theatre in 1968, followed by an M.A. in Drama/Design from the University of Washington in 1969, and a PhD in Theatre from the University of Illinois in 1980. From 1969-1975, Gibbs was the Instructor-Designer/Technical Director for East Texas State University’s Department of Speech and Drama and concurrently served as theatre design and lighting consultant for G. Emerson Diskey & Associates in Dallas, TX. From 1975-1976, he was the theatre lighting specialist for Crites & Associates in Okemos, MI and was Technical Director for the Department of Dance at the University of Illinois from 1976-1978. In 1978, he began a 35-year career working at the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville in the Department of Drama (later called the Department of Theatre). He taught a variety of classes in the department including lighting design, scene design, theatre management, and theatre architecture. He also directed numerous plays for the university and served as Department Chair from 1993 until his retirement in 2013. Gibbs also worked as a Theatre Consultant starting in the 1980s, and in 2015, he was accepted into the American Society of Theatre Consultants (ASTC). As a consultant, he was involved with many productions in Northwest Arkansas including local high school, college, and professional productions. Gibbs also served on the Walton Arts Center Council since the planning stages of the center in 1984, until 2012.

Two of Gibbs' predecessors in the UA theatre department (Preston Magruder and George Kernodle) have materials featured in this collection. More information about them can be found in collections MC 1551 H. Preston Magruder Materials and MC 840 George R. Kernodle Scrapbooks.