Dallas’ Paul Quinn College has added a couple of firsts to its resume by being the first urban and first historically black college in the nation to be named a Work College by the U.S. Department of Education.
D Magazine reported that the designation will enable President Michael Sorrell to reach his goal of creating a national network of work programs that are based on Paul Quinn’s model.
In a release, Sorrell said that Paul Quinn is the ninth federally recognized Work College in the country.
“Our goal is to expand this program to other cities.”
Michael Sorrell
“We’re the first urban Work College in the country,” Sorrell told D Magazine. “Our goal is to expand this program to other cities.”
A Work College is a liberal arts colleges that integrates work, learning, and services. All students work, regardless of their academic interest or financial need.
Beyond sharing the Work College model, Sorrell said he’s also considering opening branches of Paul Quinn College in other cities, D Magazine said.
“We’re going to be malleable in terms of which format that takes,” he said about the expansion. “But the goal is to create a system of urban Work Colleges.”
“We’re going to be malleable in terms of which format that takes.”
Michael Sorrell
Sorrel said that the work program introduced four years ago at the college offers industry training and opportunities for students, who are provided with a low-cost, structured work program in which they can learn skills and get coaching and evaluation from experts in their fields.
Paul Quinn College has 450 students, 78 of whom are black, and roughly 20 percent of whom are Hispanic.
It is a private, faith-based, liberal arts-inspired institution founded in 1872 by a group African Methodist Church preachers in Austin. It now is located in South Dallas.
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