Dr. Michael J. Sorrell’s path to become a college president was unconventional.
Although he was born and raised in Chicago, he came from a Southern family full of educators.
“My mother’s first cousin, who was really like her sister, would always tell me, at some point you will find your way into the family business of education,” says Sorrell, who is president of Paul Quinn College, a small, private historically Black college (HBCU) in Dallas, Texas.
He had other intentions.
Sorrell planned to pursue a career in public service. Eventually he wanted to own and operate a National Basketball Association (NBA) franchise. However, his career plans shifted while he was an undergraduate at Oberlin College. At the time, he had the opportunity to have dinner with Dr. Johnnetta B. Cole, who was president of Spelman College.
“She is just regal,” says Sorrell. “It is as if you are in the company of someone whose elegance and grace is just unbelievable. By the end of that dinner, I left thinking, ‘If this is what HBCU presidents are like, this will be my last career.’”
After earning his law degree at Duke University, Sorrell moved to Dallas and built relationships with a group of former college basketball athletes — some of whom had played for Paul Quinn College. Each weekend, they played games at the downtown YMCA gym together.
