In 1971, whilst researching the history of the Russian literary language at Wolfson College, Oxford, Andrew joined the recently formed 'Neo-Formalist Circle'.

Andrew's teaching has included courses on Anton Chekhov, Fyodor Dostoevsky, Nikolai Gogol, Mikhail Lermontov, Alexander Pushkin, Leo Tolstoy, Ivan Turgenev and women in Russian literature.

Joe Andrew, and his departmental colleague Chris Pike, began organising the Neo-Formalist Circle from Keele University in the mid-1970s.

During Andrew's leadership of the Neo-Formalist Circle it has organised several special conferences, on literary figures such as Chekhov, Gogol, Platonov and Pushkin.

[2][5] Until recently, Joe Andrew has had a long history of involvement in Voluntary sector organisations set up to tackle Homelessness in North Staffordshire.