William D. Underwood has been the eighteenth President of

Mercer University Mercer University is a private research university with its main campus in Macon, Georgia. Founded in 1833 as Mercer Institute and gaining university status in 1837, it is the oldest private university in the state and enrolls more than 9,000 ...

since 2006.Mercer Presidency biography
/ref>Midcountry Financial Corporation
/ref> He was the interim President of

Baylor University Baylor University is a private Baptist Christian research university in Waco, Texas. Baylor was chartered in 1845 by the last Congress of the Republic of Texas. Baylor is the oldest continuously operating university in Texas and one of the fir ...

from 2005 to 2006.Baylor Presidency biography
/ref>

Biography

Underwood graduated from

Oklahoma Baptist University Oklahoma Baptist University (OBU) is a private Baptist university in Shawnee, Oklahoma. It was established in 1910 under the original name of The Baptist University of Oklahoma. OBU is owned and was founded by the Baptist General Convention of O ...

and received a J.D. from the

University of Illinois The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the University ...

in 1985. He was an editor of the ''University of Illinois Law Review'' and a member of the

Order of the Coif The Order of the Coif is an honor society for United States law school graduates. The name is a reference to the ancient English order of advocates, the serjeants-at-law, whose courtroom attire included a coif—a white lawn or silk skullcap, whi ...

. He clerked for the Honorable Sam D. Johnson of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. Underwood then joined the firm of Carrington, Coleman, Sloman and Blumenthal in

Dallas, Texas Dallas () is the third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 million people. It is the largest city in and seat of Dallas County w ...

. In 1990, he became a law professor at

. While a professor at the law school, he served as interim President of

from 2005 to 2006. Since 2006, he has served as the President of

. Underwood has been involved with the

American Law Institute The American Law Institute (ALI) is a research and advocacy group of judges, lawyers, and legal scholars established in 1923 to promote the clarification and simplification of United States common law and its adaptation to changing social needs. ...

, the

American Bar Foundation The American Bar Foundation (ABF) is an independent, nonprofit national research institute established in 1952 and located in Chicago. Its mission is to expand knowledge and advance justice by supporting innovative, interdisciplinary and rigorous ...

, the Texas Bar Foundation, the Atlanta Regional Consortium on Higher Education, the Tubman Museum, the

Georgia Cancer Coalition Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

, the

Georgia Chamber of Commerce The Georgia Chamber of Commerce is a statewide membership organization centered on a mission of pro-business Advocacy group, advocacy and headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia, United States. The Georgia Chamber claims to oppose l ...

, the

International Association of Baptist Colleges and Universities The International Association of Baptist Colleges and Universities (IABCU) is an association of Baptist universities. Its headquarters are in Nashville, Tennessee. History It has its origins in the Southern Association of Southern Baptist College ...

, the

American Baptist Historical Society The American Baptist Historical Society (ABHS) is the oldest Baptist historical society in the United States. History The American Baptist Historical Society was created in 1853 at the instigation of John Mason Peck. In 1862, it was chartered under ...

, and MidCountry Financial Corporation. Underwood is a

Baptist Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only (believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul compete ...

.Baylor Mag
/ref>

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Underwood, William Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Baptists from the United States Oklahoma Baptist University alumni University of Illinois alumni Presidents of Baylor University Presidents of Mercer University University of Illinois College of Law alumni