‘This Is a Reverential Space’: Paul Quinn College Boasts First-Ever Alumni Office

For the first time ever, the campus of Paul Quinn College in Dallas has an alumni office and multipurpose space through a partnership with Dallas-based nonprofit Dwell with Dignity.

It’s more than just a few renovated rooms located inside the Richard Allen Chapel Complex. The space is an act of appreciation for the graduates who paved the way.

Each photo along the hallway tells a story of rich history and deep pride. Significant moments are frozen in time.

Paul Quinn College was founded in 1872 and has since made numerous contributions to its surrounding community and beyond. Walking the corridors inside the Chapel might bring up feelings that, perhaps, only those who’ve planted roots at Paul Quinn can truly understand.

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“When I walked into this hallway I broke down in tears,” said Dr. Bess Carpenter Dunner.

Dunner graduated from Paul Quinn College in 1977. She joined Ruby Hall Baker, who graduated in 1969, for an interview with NBC 5 about the newly renovated and decorated facility. Both said the office was a long time coming.

It’s a haven; sacred for those proud to call Paul Quinn home.

“As you can see when I talk about it [PQC], I glow because I love it so,” Dunner said.

Baker said she remembers her days as a student when she would drop off her father at work and look forward to attending class.

“My main memory was the excitement of driving in on campus,” she said.

As they reminisce, they acknowledge there’s more than enough room now to carry out alumni affairs. It is also where the past intersects with the future. President Dr. Michael Sorrell said that was intentional.

“This is a reverential space,” said Sorrell. “This is a space where you can come and engage with the alums, but this is a space that you aspire to be a part of. And this is the physical manifestation of your aspirations.”

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He said alumni from generations past, including Dunner and Baker, were intimately involved with the process of creating the office and multipurpose rooms — dispelling many inaccuracies about graduates of historically Black colleges and universities.

“They give. They show up. They are engaged. They are passionate about this institution,” he said. “The alums here invest differently and more deeply on an interpersonal level than anything I’ve seen.”

Sorrell weighed in on the criticisms often lobbed at graduates of HBCUs nationwide.

“Do we talk about the intellectual contributions that our alums make? Do we talk about how they engage with current students?” he asked. “You don’t get to denigrate the HBCU experience because you don’t understand it. And you don’t get to just reduce it to dollars and cents.”

According to The Century Foundation, roughly 70% of HBCU students are Pell Grant recipients. According to the United Negro College Fund, 39% of HBCU students are first-generation college students. The organization reports the percentage of historically Black institutions that educate low-income students is nearly 30% higher than the national average.

Sorrell said these are critical statistics that cannot be overlooked.

“Disposable income helps to determine how much people give back to anything,” he said. “So, if you’re starting out with less, you can’t then turn around and expect people to give more when they’re trying to meet their own personal responsibilities.”

Both Dunner and Baker wore PQC blazers and medallions that were hard-earned as graduates of the college.

“This medallion, it has a significance to it,” said Baker.

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Dunner said she’s witnessed changes at the college over the past several decades. She is optimistic about what’s to come.

“I’ve seen us at the low points. And I’ve seen the high points. I see Paul Quinn doing great things, greater things than we’ve already done,” Dunner said.

Baker and Dunner said they’ll enter campus with the same pride as always. Only now, they have a new place to share their love and appreciation for Paul Quinn College.

“Even then people counted us out. We fell, but we did not die,” Dunner said. “It made me very proud to have an understanding of where we are, where we’ve been, and how we ended up in this beautiful space.”

Paul Quinn College said the new space “will also be used by the African Methodist Episcopal Church for local and national gatherings. The new space will also be the destination for alumni when they visit campus for tours. The alumni office will feature flexible space for meetings and programs, a lounge, games, meeting rooms, offices for alumni relations, and more.”

Click here for more information on Paul Quinn College.

Click here for more information on Dwell with Dignity.