Did you know Detroit is home to the country's only Historically Black College focused entirely on design?

Pensole Lewis College of Business and Design (PLC) is not only steeped in rich history, it's also redefining what higher education can look like.

"Being able to be part of the reopening of an HBCU in the city of Detroit is beyond humbling," Dr. D'Wayne Edwards, president of Pensole Lewis College, said.

Dr. Edwards didn't stumble upon PLC by accident. He's a visionary footwear designer who became the school's majority stakeholder in 2021, years after it closed in 2015 due to struggles adapting to a changing, tech-driven landscape.

PLC was originally founded as Lewis Business College in 1928 by Dr. Violet T. Lewis, who opened the school in Indianapolis to support the development of Black secretaries. A Detroit branch followed in 1939. In 1987, it officially became an HBCU, one of just a handful established by a Black woman.

"You have the second Black college, opened by a Black woman, in the city of Detroit," Dr. Edwards said.

Enrollment soared growing by 600%, but the rise of the digital age outpaced the school's infrastructure.

"The school couldn't adapt to the computer generation of the '80s and '90s," Edwards explained. "And so the school ultimately had to close."

In 2021, Edwards renamed the school the Pensole Lewis College of Business and Design, combining its historical foundation with a new, design-focused future.

"That was important because HBCUs didn't traditionally focus on design," Edwards said.

Today, PLC is anything but traditional. It partners directly with major companies like Nike, New Balance, and Carhartt to co-create curriculum, giving students hands-on experience and faster pathways to employment.

"That reduces the break-in time," said Edwards. "It makes our students more employable, faster."

Beyond producing the next generation of designers, Edwards says the school is rooted in something bigger: community.

"I want people to feel like this is their college," he said. "Because without the city, there is no college."