At Paul Quinn College, Transforming a Football Field Into An "Urban Farm"

Paul Quinn College, which celebrated its 138th birthday one week ago today, remains without accreditation almost one year after Southern Association of Colleges and Schools removed the school from its membership list. Which is why it's now seeking accreditation status elsewhere: the significantly smaller Transnational Association of Christian Colleges and...

By Robert Wilonsky

April 16, 2010

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Paul Quinn College, which celebrated its 138th birthday one week ago today, remains without accreditation almost one year after Southern Association of Colleges and Schools removed the school from its membership list. Which is why it's now seeking accreditation status elsewhere: the significantly smaller Transnational Association of Christian Colleges and Schools. Yet even without the SACS's blessings, president Michael Sorrell insists money's still coming in: "We're in position to have the best financial year since I've been here," he told Bill Zeeble last week. "We have close to $2 million in capital improvement projects underway."

Which brings us to this bit of intriguing news: On his blog last week, Sorrell noted that the university's in the middle of plowing under its football field -- because, well, the school no longer has a football team. In its place, Sorrell writes, will be a nearly two-acre "an urban farm" by mid-summer. Says Sorrell, "If you really want to lift someone out of poverty, plant a garden, not a sports field. It's great if you can have both. But, if you can't, it's always better to choose sustainability over fleeting glory. Hunger pains have a way of staying with you long after the crowd leaves and the cheering ceases."

Larry James, president and CEO of Central Dallas Ministries, went out to see the work-in-progress this morning. He returned with a brief video, which you'll find after the jump.

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