Paul Quinn, Lauded for Its Work-College Model, Will Open a Second Campus

Paul Quinn College announced on Thursday that it would take the first step in realizing its vision of a national work-colleges network: opening a second campus, in Plano, Tex.

David Pellerin, AP Images

“We promised you that we were going to create a national network of urban work colleges. This is the first,” said Michael J. Sorrell, the college’s president, speaking at a news conference and gesturing at a screen behind him with the logo for “PQC Plano.”

Sorrell has been lauded throughout higher education for helping to bring the college back from the brink of closure. Sorrell said on Thursday that enrollment at Paul Quinn, in Dallas, had been steadily increasing for the last three to four years, making expansion necessary to meet the growing need.

“We are being good stewards of the financial faith students have shown us,” Sorrell said on the price of expanding to a second location.

Sorrell described the expansion as a “historic moment” for the work-college model, which gives all students jobs, on and off campus.

The new site in Plano will house students in apartments to reduce overhead costs. Paul Quinn College will work with corporate sponsors, including FedEx, JPMorgan Chase, Liberty Mutual, and others, to arrange for student internships and classroom space, Sorrell said. Several students interning with corporate partners were present for the announcement.

Sorrell said the urban work college is a “reimagination” of the college model that allows students to attend classes while they complete internships, earning stipends to pay for tuition and living expenses, while gaining critical work experience.

“America’s colleges and universities need to change and do more to address the needs of students,” Sorrell said.

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