HigherEd Series: From the Brink of Closure to Reinventing Paul Quinn College with Michael Sorrell

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In the history of mankind, there are no examples of where the king overthrew him. It's like that's not how it works. Revolutions start from below with disenchanted, disaffected masses that want and demand better and are frustrated with the failure of the king to respond to their cries. So expecting Stanford or expecting the Ivy Leagues or expecting flagship state schools to hold up their hands and say, there needs to be a different model. There needs to be a better way of caring for students from under-resourced communities. That is unrealistic.

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Welcome to the EdTech Insiders Higher Education Series, hosted by Matthew Raskoff. Matthew is an education innovation leader, a Stanford lecturer, and a regular guest on our podcast, whose work focuses on expanding access to knowledge and opportunity through digital learning. In this series, he speaks with leaders shaping the future of higher education. We hope you enjoy the conversations.

Welcome, everybody. This is Matthew Raskoff with another episode of EdTech Insiders and our special mini-series focused on higher education and innovation. We have a wonderful leader with us today, President Michael Sorrell of Paul Quinn College. Thanks so much for being with us.

No, it's an honor to be here, Matthew. Thank you for the invitation.

We're going to talk a little bit about Paul Quinn, the turnaround story there, which I know has been inspiring for so many folks in the field. I've been hearing about it, I think, maybe for 15 years myself, from I think some of the investors, Daniel Pianco, big fans of yours have been talking you up. And I think it may have been also at Duke University, which is one of your alma maters, and I was working there at the time. But you've achieved quite a bit of renown in Dallas and Texas and nationwide for taking a college that was not thriving in 2007 and making it one of the most vibrant sources of inspiration and innovation in the sector. So maybe you could just start by telling us that story for those who have not heard it before.

Sure. We are a story about what's possible. When I was recruited to take the job in 2007, we were told by Boston Insulting Group that we had 18 to 24 months before we would have to close our doors. And, you know, I tell people the story and everyone