From Yahoo News -
Detroit's comeback efforts linked to an 85-year-old HBCU making a return of its own
By Marquise Francis
 |
| Dr. D’Wayne Edwards in front of what used to be the Lewis College of Business in Detroit. (Pensole Lewis College of Business and Design) |
The Lewis College of Business in Detroit had been Michigan’s only historically Black college or university (HBCU) for more than seven decades before it was shuttered in 2013 due to financial hardship and a steep decline in enrollment. But eight years after closing, the school is set to make a return — only this time under a slightly new name and an entirely new mission.
Former Air Jordan designer Dr. D’Wayne Edwards is refounding the school as the Pensole Lewis College of Business and Design with an all-around focus on design, a nod to the Pensole Design Academy he founded in 2010, the country’s first academy dedicated to footwear design.
“Of the HBCUs that are in existence today, very few of them have a focus on design,” Edwards told Yahoo News. “We hope what we’re doing by reestablishing Lewis College is that it’ll help people look at Detroit as an epicenter for creativity and design.”
The Pensole Lewis College of Business and Design will be the first HBCU to focus solely on design — from footwear to furniture and packaging — and will offer students both two-year and four-year degrees, as well as special certificates, working directly with corporate partners to help students’ transition into careers after graduation.
Edwards said he wants to provide opportunities for the city of Detroit and Black youth. More than three decades ago, he said, he was only the second Black footwear designer in the entire footwear industry. Today there are fewer than 200 globally, and across the design industry as a whole, Black people make up less than 4 percent.
No comments:
Post a Comment