Pensole Founder D'Wayne Edwards Reopens Detroit's Only HBCU

Pensole Footwear Design Academy founder D’Wayne Edwards' Pensole Lewis College of Business and Design school is opening in March 2022. Here are the details.

D’Wayne Edwards Lewis College of Business
Image via Pensole
D’Wayne Edwards Lewis College of Business

The Lewis College of Business, which is the first-ever historically Black college and university (HBCU) to open in Detroit, is under new ownership.

Earlier today, the former Nike and Air Jordan designer and Pensole Footwear Design Academy founder D’Wayne Edwards announced he has acquired the institution and will be reinstated next year under the new name Pensole Lewis College of Business and Design. Per the school’s website, it will offer free tuition and programs to students across various industries including design, sustainability, business, STEM, and more.

The Lewis College of Business was founded in 1928 by Violet T. Lewis in Indiana and was relocated to Detroit in 1939. The school remained in operation for nearly 75 years until it closed its doors in 2013. The Pensole Lewis College of Business and Design will be the country’s first HBCU to be reinstated.

The Pensole Lewis College of Business and Design will open its doors in March 2022 with enrollments set to open in the coming weeks. Click here for the full remarks about the school’s reopening from Edwards.