MACON, Ga. — On any given morning or evening, you can find Mercer President Bill Underwood, accompanied by his dog Cricket, strolling around the Mercer campus picking up trash and connecting with students.

That connection comes easy thanks to Cricket.

“When I'm out walking with her, especially in the evenings, when there are a lot of people out it makes me much more approachable," Underwood said.

You may not find many college presidents picking up trash, but Underwood isn’t your typical president. The Texas lawyer, turned professor, turned president came to Macon 20 years ago.

“I thought this is a place where I think I could get to work on some special things and it looked like a community that would be a good fit for me," he said.

From bringing back football in 2013 , to starting

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