Paul Quinn's History

Paul Quinn was founded in 1872 by a group of African Methodist Episcopal Church preachers in Austin, Texas. Over the College’s history, Paul Quinn has proudly served as one of this nation’s 100+ Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU). Paul Quinn has moved from its original home in a church basement in Austin, Texas to a former slave plantation in Waco, to its current campus today in southern Dallas, just miles from the downtown business district. For more than 150 years, the College has survived despite the challenges of Reconstruction, the Great Depression, Jim Crow, a global pandemic, and many other socio-political movements that have threatened to close its doors. Today, Paul Quinn is viewed as one of the most innovative colleges in America, one that continuously expands the boundaries of higher education and community advocacy in its quest to eradicate intergenerational poverty.

Paul Quinn's Culture

At Paul Quinn, we take people and transform them into Quinnites. Leaders who value the harder right over the easier wrong and live to bring light to darkness and give hope to the hopeless. Paul Quinn is a place that pushes the boundaries of higher education. We pride ourselves in teaching our students to challenge the status quo. We believe that greatness comes not from doing the same thing everyone else is doing, but in forging a path that others could not travel while doing things that others cannot do. Our students are involved in an array of academic and professional activities on campus, including men’s and women’s athletics, student government, Greek life and multiple student clubs and activities. As the first and only Urban Work College in the United States, students work on and off-campus and have internships at local and national organizations, Fortune 500 corporations and non-profits. The Paul Quinn College Tigers 2021-2022 men’s basketball team, led by Coach of the Year Brandon Espinosa, won the United States Collegiate Athletic Association Division I Championship in 2022. In 2021, Paul Quinn unveiled a newly-designed basketball court featuring historical images of the Dallas skyline, including the winged Pegasus. The basketball court was named one of the coolest and best courts in the nation by HBCU Buzz and ESPN. The goal of the design is to highlight both the College’s and southern Dallas’ connection to the city. The basketball court is housed in a 1,100-person capacity Health & Wellness Center – the first new building on campus in almost 50 years. The facility is used by Paul Quinn’s varsity basketball and cheer and dance teams, Health & Wellness majors and community partners.

What to know about Paul Quinn

Paul Quinn is the first and only Urban Work College in the United States. Paul Quinn meets the needs of today’s college students by helping them to secure internships that allow them to improve their opportunities for post-graduation employment, gain access to high-quality mentoring, and graduate with less student loan debt. In Fall 2022, Paul Quinn had the highest enrollment in 30 years. As a Work College, Paul Quinn meets the needs of today’s increasing urban, diverse, and low-income college students by allowing students to graduate with less than $10,000 in debt while gaining access to high-quality mentoring, in-demand professional skills and improved opportunities for employment. Paul Quinn is also the only Historically Black College and University (HBCU) that guarantees all its residential students paid employment via our federal Work College status. Paul Quinn’s educational foundation is rooted in The Four Pillars of a Quinnite Education. Paul Quinn students receive four different methods of education during their time on campus. The Four Pillars go beyond the traditional college experience. When Quinnties graduate, we have prepared them to pursue multiple career pathways –careers aligned with their academic major, leveraging one of their internships into a full-time career, utilizing one of their certifications, or bringing their business plan to life. The Paul Quinn College Tigers 2021-2022 men’s basketball team, led by Coach of the Year Brandon Espinosa, won the United States Collegiate Athletic Association Division I Championship in 2022.

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