LANSING, MI (WKZO AM/FM) – Governor Whitmer has signed House Bill 5447 and 5448 to facilitate the reopening of the Lewis College of Business as the Pensole Lewis College of Business and Design in Detroit.
Officials say this is Michigan’s first and only Historically Black College or University (HBCU).
“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 Michiganders across our state to put Michigan first.”
Dr. D’Wayne Edwards, founder of the Pensole Design Academy in Oregon and future president of the Pensole Lewis College of Business and Design, issued the following statement –
“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. Our goal is to celebrate Violet T. Lewis’ life’s work she established in the city of Detroit in 1939. Today moves us forward to another major step in continuing her legacy with the support of our founding partners College for Creative Studies, Target, and The Gilbert Family Foundation.”
The Lewis College of Business operated in Detroit from 1939 until 2013.
The college originally received its HBCU designation in 1987, and the reopening school is requesting HBCU recognition from the state.
Pensole Lewis College of Business and Design is expected to open in 2022 on the campus of the College for Creative Studies in Detroit.
