Paul Quinn College was founded in 1877 in Waco, Texas, by a small group of African Methodist Episcopal preachers from the Metropolitan A.M.E. Church. Originally, the college was called the Connectional High School and Institute. The school’s original purpose was to educate freemen and their children.

Later, the college was renamed Waco College. Classes were held in a modest one-building trade school; freedmen were taught the skills of blacksmithing, carpentry, tanning, and saddle work, common occupations for the era, especially in the increasingly segregated state. This was the model established by the Tuskegee Institute. In May 1881, the college was chartered by the State of Texas and changed its name to Paul Quinn College to commemorate the contributions of Bishop William Paul Quinn.

Facilitated through the Institute for Capacity Building, Paul Quinn College is now a participant in New Skills at Work, an effort designed to help institutions increase student completion of high-quality career pathways and scale operational models to improve overall student success.