Around Mercer University's campus President Bill Underwood is known as the biggest bear, and at 6'6", he fits the description.
"I love this place," Underwood says. "I love the energy of the students, I like being around them, I like the soul of the institution, I like the values and the heritage of the institution and I like the way it's playing out in the 21st century."
This fall marks 10 years at the University for Underwood.
"One of the things I thought when I first visited Mercer was that this is one of the best-kept secrets in higher education," he says.
Through the years, Mercer's footprint has expanded throughout the city and nation, but Underwood says the most significant thing he's done as president, is "put together a great team of people."
Underwood has played a major role in raising the school's profile in sports, adding football, men's and women's lacrosse, and sand volleyball. "We don't really have anything else on the horizon, I think that's plenty," he says.
Overall enrollment has grown 22 percent and Ph. D. programs have increased tenfold, rising 33 to 300.
Underwood says, "The students are accomplishing more than they've ever accomplished before."
He explains in detail saying, "This past year, a sophomore at Mercer won the Goldwater scholarship, the most prestigious undergraduate award available to students in the sciences. That's one example. Last year a Mercer freshman won the National Parliamentary Debate championship. A freshman won the national championship in debate!"
Along with expansion projects throughout the city itself, but Underwood rarely takes credit.
"Some of the things you've mentioned are things I didn't have much to do with, some of the things you've mentioned are things that people have accomplished despite me being in the way," he says.
One project Underwood says he 'didn't have much to do with' was the College Hill Corridor, a neighborhood revitalization project focused on improving a two mile area surrounding Mercer.
"It was actually a senior capstone project that began with a core group of students," says Jessica Walden, who worked for the College Hill Corridor when it first started in 2009.
She continues by saying, "But in order to take it as far as we did in the community, you had to have this key leadership driving the effort and encouraging our community to participate, and of course at the forefront of that has been President Underwood."
Underwood also helped create the Center for Collaborative Journalism, aimed at giving students hands on news-gathering experience.
"It takes students and lets them use the theory they're learning in the classroom and put it to work working side by side with people like yourself"
Journalism students aren't the only ones, Mercer Medical students also get to work side by side with physicians at the Mercer School of Medicine.
"Our medical school is committed to preparing primary care physicians for rural and medically undeserved parts of the state. It's a big challenge for the state of Georgia."
And the paw print can be found around the world. Students have the opportunity to take skills learned on campus to other continents through Mercer On Mission.
"I love seeing the way students can take what they're learning in the classroom and put it to work to solve real problems if you give them the opportunities to do it."
So, whether you see him at a football game or a hotel ground breaking, Underwood says he's always thinking about how to push the footprint forward.
Saying he see's himself at the University for a long time, "At some point, I'll go back and teach law school again."
For now, Underwood says he'll stick to taking care of his Mercer cubs.
Underwood says they are looking at expanding into Columbus with a full four-year university.
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