Additional founders were E. Wight Bakke, who later became a professor of economics at Yale, and Robert R. Chamberlain, who headed a furniture company.

[9] The new institution was conceived in reaction to Northeastern University's abandonment of its New Haven, Connecticut, program at the onset of the Great Depression.

In 1966, Quinnipiac moved to its current campus in the Mount Carmel section of Hamden, Connecticut, at the foot of Sleeping Giant Park.

Manuel Carreiro, Quinnipiac's vice president and dean of students, allegedly threatened to fire Braff[further explanation needed] for disagreeing with school policies.

[14][15][16] On July 21, 2010, a federal judge ruled that Quinnipiac violated Title IX of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 by failing to provide equal treatment to women's athletic teams.

Underhill ruled that competitive cheerleading was currently too underdeveloped and unorganized and then ordered that the school maintain its volleyball program for the 2010–11 season.

The university also had agreed to implement a new policy of nondiscrimination against applicants or students on the basis of disability, examine changes that will allow students with mental health disabilities to participate in educational programs while seeking mental health treatment and provide additional ADA training for all staff.

[19] In 2020, two students reached a $2.5 million settlement with the federal government, alleging the shift in remote learning during the COVID-19 pandemic devalued the promised educational experience.

The students alleged the virtual environment deprived them of promised in-person instruction, campus events, and relationship building.

The school denied these allegations, saying virtual instruction was in the best interest due to public health and safety concerns.

In 2010 this was joined by a new student center as well as expanded parking and residence facilities as part of a $300 million expansion of the 250-acre (1.0 km2) campus.

[23] For statistical reporting purposes, the Mount Carmel and York Hill campuses were listed together as the Quinnipiac University census-designated place prior to the 2020 census.

[28][29] The university operates several media outlets, including a professionally run commercial radio station, WATX, founded by journalist and Quinnipiac professor Lou Adler.

The collection is contained in Ireland’s Great Hunger Museum (Músaem An Ghorta Mhóir) just off the Mount Carmel Campus.

[40] Quinnipiac's polling institute receives national recognition for its independent surveys of residents throughout the United States.

[41] The institute receives funding from the university,[41] with its phone callers generally being work-study students or local residents.

[53] Men's varsity sports are baseball, basketball, cross country, ice hockey, lacrosse, soccer, and tennis.