HBCU DIGEST: Shuttered HBCU in Detroit seeks to Reopen

Here's what you need to know

Today, Dr. D’Wayne Edwards, Founder of the PENSOLE Design Academy, announced his intention to reopen the Lewis College of Business as the PENSOLE Lewis College of Business and Design in 2022. Dr. Edwards is the controlling stockholder of the Lewis College of Business.

Pending approval from Michigan legislators, the PENSOLE Lewis College of Business will begin educating Black creatives, designers, engineers, and business leaders.

This decision is being made possible through funding from the Gilbert Family Foundation and Target Corporation and academic sponsorship from the College for Creative Studies in Detroit, Michigan.

The former Lewis College of Business closed in 2013. The Lewis College of Business Charter is still viable; the original charter from 1890 is considered unlimited and comparable to the University of Michigan Charter. If successful, PENSOLE Lewis College of Business and Design will be the first Historically Black College to reopen.