Paul Quinn

Bill Cosby Will Deliver the Commencement Address at Paul Quinn College

Six years ago, wooing a high-profile commencement speaker was the last thing on Paul Quinn College's to-do list. The southern Dallas school, the city's only historically black college, was in disrepair, physically and academically, after years of mismanagement. With its accreditation set to be revok ... More >>

Paul Quinn College Bans Bacon, Other Delicious Pork Products

Update at 3:31 p.m.: Just heard back from Paul Quinn President Michael Sorrell who told me this is part of an ongoing effort to make the school's dining options healthier. They've added a grill and cut back on fried food in recent years, and there's the garden, of course. "The reality is that our s ... More >>

A Plan for Fair Park: Bulldoze It

Over at The Dallas Morning News uniblog, my former colleague Robert Wilonsky has an item keeping us up to date on plans to turn Fair Park in South Dallas into a year-round commercial amusement park, an idea about which I have no personal objections or, for that matter, especially strong feelings. B ... More >>

Michael Sorrell: The Prez

In this week's Dallas Observer we profile 30 of the metro area's most interesting characters, with new portraits of each from local photographer Mark Graham. See the entire Dallas Observer People Issue here. Paul Quinn College in South Dallas is empty, most of its students home for the summer, but ... More >>

At Paul Quinn College's Trayvon Martin Rally,
A Cry For Justice

Repercussions from the fatal shooting of unarmed Florida teenager Trayvon Martin will be felt in Austin next year, state Senator Royce West told hundreds of demonstrators who gathered at Paul Quinn College today to mourn and demand justice for the 17-year-old. "We've come together today, but what w ... More >>

Michael Sorrell Revived Paul Quinn College (and Almost Died Doing It)

Dallas' only historically black college was on the brink of collapse. Now the students are protesters, the football field is a farm and the president is the star.

Mayor Mike Rawlings: "South Dallas Is Not a Charity Case. It's A Business Opportunity."

Photos by Anna Merlan​For months, Mayor Mike Rawlings has made it clear that he's got his eye on Southern Dallas. This afternoon, as promised, was the first of three public presentations he'll give on his Southern Dallas Economic Growth Plan, which played to a packed house of bigwigs at the So ... More >>

The Rewards of a Good Buzz

Special thanks to those who made 2011 so very, very special.

Dallas Farmer's Market: Cut it Off at the Roots

It's time to admit the city-owned market is a failure.

Mayor Mike Rawlings Last Night: "Everything I Look At, I Ask, 'Is It Right for Southern Dallas?'"

Last night, Mayor Mike Rawlings hosted a community forum at Cedar Crest Golf Course, billed in the invitation as an "update on the City of Dallas." Backed by council members Dwaine Caraway and Tennell Atkins and a large supporting cast of other city officials, he tried to reassure the crowd: City Ha ... More >>

The Continuing Leppertness of Mayor Mike Rawlings

Even his opponents say Rawlings is a good guy. Why is that exactly?

"Tired of Being Ignored and Insulted," Paul Quinn Students Round Up Powerful and Familiar Faces for City Hall Protest

Photo by Danny HurleyPaul Quinn College President Michael J. Sorrell at the flow-control protest before the council's vote last month​New Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings is in for the first serious grassroots challenge to his leadership -- a march on City Hall announced today by a broad-based coalition ... More >>

Dumped On

How will City Hall's garbage dump vote turn trash into treasure? Ask the Reverend Stephen Nash.

The Protest Before the Council Vote on Flow Control, and the Promises After It Passed

At around 9, before the Dallas City Council voted on the measure that would direct all trash collected in the city to the landfill in southeast Dallas, more than 50 students and teachers at Paul Quinn College marched around City Hall chanting and wearing white T-shirts that read, "I AM NOT TRASH," a ... More >>

Paul Quinn President, Regional Chamber Prez Ask Council to Delay Vote on Flow Control

Paul Quinn College President Michael Sorrell​Anyone who's even glanced Unfair Park in the last few months knows by now that City Manager Mary Suhm and Mary Nix, head of Sanitation Services, are hoping that the city council will vote tomorrow on a proposal that will force all solid-waste haulers to ... More >>

WSJ on The New-Look Paul Quinn College

Photo by Kimberly ThorpeMichael Sorrell​Not so very long ago it looked as though Paul Quinn College on Simpson Stuart Road might not be long for this world, following the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools' decision to yank its accreditation. Appeals were made; lawsuits, filed. And the e ... More >>

Was the Glass Half Full or Half Empty for Dallas Diners in 2010?

Tom Spicer Starts Another Local Produce Fight

Who could possibly find fault with an urban farm designed to teach entrepreneurial skills to college students and provide fresh, healthy food to low-income eaters? On a slow day, Tom Spicer, who says he was compelled by a mixture of boredom and outrage to call out the management of Paul Quinn Colleg ... More >>

Paul Quinn College Declares Student Farm a Success

Paul Quinn College's community garden, the most visible element of a massive rebuilding effort the troubled school launched earlier this year, produced one thousand pounds of food this summer. Snacks.com​Director of Service Learning Elizabeth Wattley reported on the garden's progress at yesterday ... More >>

At Paul Quinn College, It's: So Long, Old Dorms! Hello, Lacrosse and Gardens!

Photos by Patrick MichelsTrammell S. Crow, donated $1 million for the demolition of 13 abandoned buildings at Paul Quinn College, takes down the first chunk of the old T.M. Chambers House Tuesday morning.The football field's already given way to a Pepsi-sponsored urban farm at Paul Quinn College, an ... More >>

Don and Sheila Hill, the Unfair Park Interview

Photos and cutlines by Danny FulgencioAn inclination for religious references did not save Don Hill from lawful judgment.A little more than 24 hours after a jury found Don and Sheila Hill guilty on a total of 12 counts in the City Hall corruption case, the two sat down with me for a lengthy intervie ... More >>

What Don Hill's Conviction Means for Dallas

Paul Quinn Starts Semester With Small Number of Students But a Large Pile of Cash

​Struggling to remain viable since losing its Southern Association of Colleges and Schools accreditation this summer, Paul Quinn College yesterday announced a major fund-raising milestone. The historic black college has raised more than $1 million since July, when the Texas Legislative Black Caucu ... More >>

Paul Quinn's Accredited Again! For Now.

​So agreed the respective parties and ordered the federal judge in Georgia who's handling the college's lawsuit against the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, which stripped the 137-year-old Paul Quinn College of its membership back in June. However, the school remains on double-secret ... More >>

Extra Credit: Paul Quinn's Federal Lawsuit

As expected, Paul Quinn College is making good on its threat to take the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools all the way to federal court for tossing its accreditation. Two days after the SACS denied Paul Quinn's appeal, the 137-year-old school sued the association in Atlanta federal court, ... More >>

Southern Association of Colleges Denies Paul Quinn College's Accreditation Appeal

​The president of Southern Association of Colleges and Schools just called Unfair Park with news concerning Paul Quinn's accreditation status. Says Dr. Belle Wheelan, "The appeal panel did uphold the decision the commission had made." In other words, Paul Quinn will remain unaccredited. The decisi ... More >>

Paul Quinn's President is Defiant in Wake of Ruling: "There is No Doomsday Scenario."

Kimberly ThorpePaul Quinn College President Michael Sorrell​Turns out, Paul Quinn College President Michael Sorrell was available to talk to us today, following the news that the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools refused to reinstate the the 137-year-old institution's accreditation. Not ... More >>

Red-White-and-Blue Balls: More About the Dallas Generals and the Return of the ABA

Taurian FontenetteSo, yes, Jay Bowdy and I have made peace. If you haven't been playing along this morning, the owner of the North Texas Fresh -- that'd be Fort Worth's new entry into the American Basketball Association -- called me out this morning for ugh-ing the name of the franchise. (Wonders on ... More >>

A Week After Losing Its Accreditation, the Fate of Paul Quinn College Still Up in the Air

Kimberly ThorpePaul Quinn College president Michael SorrellMore questions than answers remain about the future of Paul Quinn College a week after its president announced the institution's loss of accreditation from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. Michael Sorrell last Friday explain ... More >>

Head of the United Negro College Fund Blasts Decision to Pull Paul Quinn's Accreditation

Michael Lomax, president and CEO of the United Negro College FundOn Friday, Kimberly spent the afternoon on the campus of Paul Quinn College, which is appealing the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools' decision to yank the school's accreditation; said president Michael Sorrell, "It is not t ... More >>

President of Paul Quinn College on the Loss of Accreditation: "It is Not Time to Write Paul Quinn's Obituary." Students Say: "It Sucks."

Kimberly ThorpePaul Quinn College president Michael SorrellPresident Michael Sorrell of Paul Quinn College earlier this afternoon addressed a room full of anxious students, alumni and curious reporters regarding news that Paul Quinn College has lost its accreditation. The news broke yesterday after ... More >>

Don Hill Slides From Mayoral Candidate to Alleged Criminal

How did that happen?

Much Ado About Nothing

Mustang Mania?

Buzz

With friends like this...

Irish stew

This Is My Father,this is my thumb -- gee, this movie's dumb

The House of Cottrell (Part I)

The untold story of bitterness and betrayal in black Dallas' royal family

BeloWatch