On Tuesday, Governor Gretchen Whitmer signed two bills that will begin the process of reopening Michigan‘s first and only Historically Black College or University.
According to the Detroit News, the school was formally named Lewis College of Business but will now reopen as the Pensole Lewis College of Business and Design in Detroit.
“I am proud to play a part in helping reopen the Pensole Lewis College of Business and Design in Detroit,” Governor Whitmer said in a statement. “I am committed to expanding educational opportunities for the Michiganders across our state to put Michigan first.”
The college operated in Detroit from 1939 until 2013 and originally received its HBCU designation in 1987. The reopening of the newly named school is requesting HBCU recognition from the state.
Pensole Lewis College is expected to open in 2022 on the College for Creative Studies campus in Detroit.
“Michigan’s creative talent has long been an important part of its economic success. This is underscored by the fact that the state boasts the highest concentration of commercial and industrial designers in the country and that Detroit if the only U.S. city recognized as a UNESCO City of Design,” Don Tuski, president of the College of Creative Studies, said in a statement.
Dwayne Edwards, the founder of the Pensole Design Academy in Portland, Oregan, will be the future president of the Pensole Lewis College of Business and Design.
“Thank you to Governor Whitmer and all of our partners for helping the grandchildren of Violet T. Lewis, Pensole, and College for Creative Studies establish an HBCU in the state of Michigan,” Edwards said. “Our goal is to celebrate Violet T. Lewis life’s work she established in the city of Detroit in 1939.”
Edwards also said the college would not grant degrees like a typical college and be “majority tuition-free.” brands would pay for students’ tuition and housing.
On Tuesday, Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan released a statement expressing his gratitude for making history as the city celebrates a new milestone. “Detroit now has the first HBCU anywhere to reopen. As a predominantly Black city, this helps send a clear message that we are building one city for everyone with opportunity for everyone.”
