 Welcome to the Education News Flash HBCU Digest Podcast. I am your hostess, Tiffany Brockington. And this morning I am going to interview Dr. Duane Edwards. As you may have seen, you should have seen because I wrote the story for it on Education News Flash. You should have seen that Detroit's only HBCU, Lewis College of Business is being reopened by Dr. Edwards. As soon as March 2022, the pencil Lewis College of Business and design will be educating Detroit students. This is something that has never been done before. And so I, of course being the Detroiter that I am, the HBCU influencer, advocate, businesswoman that I am, I jumped on this opportunity to figure out how I was going to get Dr. Edwards on the podcast so that we can all have clarity and figure out how we can best support this endeavor for our students, especially out in the Midwest. So we are going to jump right into it. Dr. Edwards, thank you for joining me today. First question is what led you to this place and idea to work to reconstitute a closed HBCU? Especially as someone who isn't a Detroiter, this is interesting to me. And there are a few other HBCUs that are currently open and defunct, that are working very hard to be whole again. And I've been very critical of one in particular. So I am wondering what makes the former Lewis College of Business the one to become the essentially Penso Academy of the Midwest? Very important question. So you know, like, you know, a lot of Detroiters we're wary of people who are not Detroiters. Absolutely. Who are city to do things. Absolutely. So that's the number one question. I know. So I would say, well, first of all, thank you very much for reaching out and thank you for, you know, giving me this opportunity to chat with your audience and yourself as well. So first I would say, you know, Detroit found me. You know, I lived in Detroit in 92, back when, you know, Marshall Mathers was Marshall Mathers and Noreen Malone had the hip hop shop down there on Eight Mile. Oh, that's me. Okay. Yep. Live there. I have uncles and aunts and cousins that still live there as well. So I have a little bit of, I spent some time in Detroit for a little bit. Honestly, I'll tell you how it really went down. I was having a conversation with one of my alumni who lives in Detroit and works in Detroit. And we were talking about CCS and how CCS should be a lot more diverse than what it is considering the city it lives in, right? And the geographic location of both campuses. And so we started having this conversation around like why wouldn't like CCS wanna partner with like HBCUs, specifically one in Florida. So for Florida A&M, because CCS has this pipeline of students that come from this one high school in Miami called Dash. And I'm like, well, you know, why wouldn't CCS like partner with Dash and Florida A&M and create more of a right robust pipeline for maybe kids who don't wanna leave Miami to come to the cold in Detroit. And maybe that could help, you know, create a broader awareness and increase diversity at CCS. And so he was like, man, that's a really good idea. He goes, you know, I think Detroit used to have an HBCU. And I'm like, well, really? And it really happened just that simple where as soon as the conversation was over, I jump on Google and I'm looking it up and I, well, there it is, right? And so looking at, you know, kind of different articles and we saw the Myers-Rod campus and we saw the person's name, Anthony Pellegrino who was the listing agent and his phone number is on the building. So I called the phone number and I was like, hey, Anthony, you don't know me. I am inquiring about the Lewis College of Business and I wanna understand, you know, is the property still for sale and do you have any relationship with the family itself? And so he did. He was handling the affairs for the family. And so within a week, I was on the phone with the Gillespie Harris side of the family. And, huh? When was this? This was in November, early December, late November, early December, 2020. And I was just curious, A, why did it close? And then as I'm reading all these other articles, I'm hearing about how it closed and how they were trying to sell it and bring it back and they were unsuccessful. So I was really inquiring to see if it was still available and if there was still an interest in bringing it back. The reason why I was curious was because for the, so when I started in the food industry in 1989, I was only the second black designer in the whole industry and I spent my whole career trying to better diversify this industry. And working at Nike and Jordan, kids figure out your email address and they start emailing me, you know, their designs and I will start to reply. And I would start to help them develop their skills and get them into internships at Jordan or Nike or jobs at Jordan or Nike. And that's where I started the bug for teaching because I realized that there were no colleges that directly fed the food industry because the skill, the job is very insular. Like if you're not in the industry, you don't know how to do it. And so that's where I started teaching just mentoring kids on the side. And then I eventually left the industry to start Pencil as that first academy that taught footwear. And that's where I really didn't wanna go back to the design part. And I really started to focus on teaching. So for the last 11 years, you know, I've been teaching these kids no degree, no formal training, it didn't matter to me. If they were passionate about it and they had the work ethic and the talent, I'd be more than happy to work with them. Everything that we do is free. Our kids don't pay for anything as far as tuition is concerned. And so we've done that for the last 11 years. And we were already churning out black designers left and right, you know, that the companies could never find because they were looking in traditional places that we are not. And so I was finding them where we were and developing them and they're like, you know, this is amazing. Where do you find these people? I said, you gotta meet them where they are. Like if you don't change where you look, you're never gonna find what you're looking for. And so we were already doing this in our own little small $60 billion footwear industry world. And then George Floyd gets murdered. And all of a sudden black people are popular. And corporations and other industries starts to contribute these dollars specifically targeted to black people. Nobody wants to go near a racist. Yes. And so some of those dollars were education focused. And so we started getting more emails because we have always been in this space of identifying and developing black talent. Just in our small little bubble, like I said, our small $60 billion bubble of the footwear industry. And so we started getting more calls and more emails from other sectors of corporate America that were in need of black talent. And so we became that go-to place, that go-to institution, if you're looking for a black designer. And so we were already doing that work. And a lot of the companies were asking us to work with HBCUs. Because of the 100 plus HBCUs that exist today, there's a small number of them that have a design degree available to you. As a full degree. And most of those programs are underdeveloped because it's poorly funded, right? And so design is not looked upon as a viable career path as a whole. Because sometimes people get designed an art mixed up where art and design are two different things. People still have the stigma that art equals broke, but design does not equal broke, okay? And so once the companies were asking us to reach out to HBCUs and we would reach out and sometimes it would work and sometimes it wouldn't work, that's another story for another day. And so the thought crossed my mind briefly, it was like, wow, well, I wonder what it would be like if there was a design focused HBCU because that's the need that all product industries are asking for is this bigger pipeline for black talent. And so that was really the innocent thought. And I'm just like, just throw it out there, right? And then when we started having this conversation with the family, it became a bit more real. And then it became very real when we connected with the other side of the family. And then we started making it work. And so immediately we partnered with COS for creative studies because they are a larger institution, we're a smaller small academy. They have the infrastructure that we need both academically and just administration wise, accreditation wise, they have all of those things that we would need. So we started partnering with them and working towards a joint venture with CCS while working through the business needs that we need to take care of to get Lewis College of Business back and good standing with the state with the idea of going down this road of us getting recognized as the lone HBCU in the state of Michigan by the government. Gotcha, okay. So that leads me to my next question because obviously this is very new for public consumption. Could you talk a bit about if there's been any conversation with the federal department of education about the HBCU designation for Pennsylvania Lewis College of Business and Design that is a mouthful, but I'm gonna say every single time for clarification, will the Pennsylvania Lewis College of Business and Design be a standalone institution once all legal matters are settled? So right now, both of you have two questions in there. So right now we're in partnership with COS for creative studies. They're gonna be our partner, as I mentioned earlier to really help us understand the educational landscape specifically on the design side as also a private institution. Our goal is to make sure we take care of the state requirements, make sure we take care of the state requirements from an education point of view as well and doing that in partnership with CCS before we go to the federal level. Okay. So we wanna make sure that we have our accreditation in line and lined up. The good thing is what CCS does is the same thing that we do, just a different object. So the accrediting body is the same person and allow us by us being connected to CCS, it allows us to be within their accreditation parameters. And so once we get a lot of those things resolved, then we'll start to have the state conversation. I would say sometime towards the mid to late next year. We wanna make sure that we have a proper case in order because this has never been done before. And so there's no legislation statewide, there's no legislation federally. And so we wanna make sure that we're properly prepared with the right information, the right support of who our founding partners are with the Gilbert Family Foundation being a Detroit icon as well as the Target Corporation. So we wanna, and then all the partners that we work with on programs. So if you think about the top 10 footwear companies, they're all our program partners. And then you bring in other major brands. So we wanna go to the White House with, hey, this is who's helping us fund this and bring it back. We have a solid educational partner that's been in business for close to 100 years. And then we also have this corporate support behind us as well. So we wanna go there prepared because like I said, it's never been done before. And we wanna make sure we go there so they know that this is just not a random idea. This is real and we got a lot of support behind it and we gonna make it work. I'm fighting the urge to say something but you're absolutely right. This has never been done before. Like people are attempting to do the thing but you came back with the plan and money to fund the plan and support from the local government to make this work. And that is the difference. That's making the difference. You don't have to fundraise the monies. It's already there. That's the difference. And for us, the federal designation for us because that right now is the de facto quote unquote governing body over HBCUs because there is no governing body, so to speak. But because the government funds them, they become the governing body. You're not charging students. They won't need financial aid. They won't need money. Exactly. So for us, it's not really the money that would come from the redesignation. It's really just the recognition of that we're able to actually come back. And so that's what we're really not going to the government for the funding because we are funded and we'll continue to be funded. It doesn't hurt to get some additional capital but that's not why we're doing it. We're doing it so we can get the redesignation. Excellent, okay. So a little earlier, there was an important point made about the focus of Pennsylvania Lewis College of Business and Design that it would focus on areas related to design education because that's an academic program that most HBCUs do not offer. So my question is, will there be an opportunity for current HBCU students to participate in Pennsylvania Lewis programming? And then relatedly, do you envision that, do you envision hosting other more traditional HBCU academic programming for Pennsylvania Lewis College of Business and Design? So to help you out, we're gonna abbreviate to PLC, right? So to help you with that, we'll abbreviate it. But absolutely, what I wanna do is create a sister school network within HBCUs. I taught over in Denmark for four years and I was amazed with the European school system of how a student who lives in Denmark can go to Italy, can go to France, can go to Germany and then come back, right? They have this ability to have this more well-rounded education system where we don't have that in the US. Now there are US schools that have sister school relationships outside of the United States, but very few have it within the United States. I would say the state of Georgia actually has it figured out the best as it pertains to HBCUs, because if you're an HBCU student in the state of Georgia, you can go to any other state school in Georgia as a simple exchange, which I wish more states actually adopted kind of that format because it just gives HBCU students the opportunity to learn about things that they don't have at their school. And so this is what my biggest goal is, is to create this sister school network within HBCUs, because what we offer, no school in the world offers, let alone in HBCU. So we're giving HBCU students the opportunity to do something that they can't do anywhere around the globe, and it just happens to be within the HBCU system. And so that is my biggest goal with this whole thing, is how can we work with other schools, HBCUs specifically, and allow their students to come hang out with us for a semester or a term and go back. And I guarantee we don't send them back better than when we receive them, but ultimately what our goal is, is to also have that return exchange, because we're gonna have business, we're gonna have design, we're gonna have manufacturing and engineering, but there's other areas that I know our students will wanna take that we don't offer. We're not gonna try to be something that we're not. We're gonna, we have a lane and we're gonna stay in that lane. And with the help of other HBCUs, you help make that lane wider, the same way we help make your lane wider. And so that is my biggest goal, is to be able to try to create that network. And actually after this call, I have a call with one of the chancellors at one of the bigger HBCUs to start having that conversation. And you know how it works, you get one of the big ones, and then the rest wanna hang out. Thank you. Yep, so, but yeah, that is the goal. That is my 100% goal. This is reminding me of the Paul Quinn model that this is, you're familiar? Yeah, in Dallas, yep. Yeah, this is what this is reminding me of. And that is one of my favorite HBCUs. This is, yes, I'm with it. Okay, well, last, last question. And this is still related to the former or the previous question. It would seem that there is the perfect balance between tradition and innovation with this project. And so how do you plan to implement certain traditional and cultural HBCU elements for PLC students? I know that when the news broke on my timeline, people were like, oh yeah, now I can have an HBCU experience. And I'm like, hold up. Right, right, right. You don't know if you're going to have that traditional experience because this is a school that will be focused on the design education and all those things connected to it. It's being recreated. You don't know if it'll be the traditional experience because you don't actually, you don't have that yet. So I'm wondering what steps have you taken or will you take to present that to students? Like how do you intend to provide a culturally authentic HBCU experience for them? So you hit it right on the head. We don't have that history, right? And so we're not going to try to fake it and try to recreate it. We're going to carve out a different experience that over time will naturally evolve into more of a natural cultural experience. But the experience that we'll do different is that on the design side and the inventor side and entrepreneur side, there's been some amazing black people that we never heard of before. And some of them are still alive. And so like there's a brother who, Brian Thompson, he designed the $100 bill, exactly. So imagine you being able to come to a college getting taught by the man who designed currency for the United States. Imagine coming to a college and being able to work with a 30 plus year veteran who designed Jordans and other products for other brands. Imagine coming to a college that is being taught by a pioneer and a woman by the name of April Walker in apparel 30 plus decades before streetwear was a word. She created that streetwear word with Carl Kanai and the cross colors of the world. Those are all brothers out of friends of mine that are still alive. And so what you'll get different is you'll be taught by living history, black history. You'll be educated on what happened before them, but you'll be also educated on what they've learned and what mistakes and what successes they had so you can prepare your path going forward. So for us, the real cultural experience is actually being immersed in the world of black creativity that is still living. That is still living. And then you'll be able to clearly see where your path will be in addition to connecting with black business leaders. So being taught business by black pioneers as well. So that's the real advantage I see coming to Detroit and being a part of what we're looking to do with pencil. Lewis is we're actually helping you create the black future you wanna see by being taught by the people who created the black future that you have right now, the current black present. So that's really the biggest cultural advantage is that and then learning about our history in these areas in all segments, right? Because it doesn't exist anywhere in a book. It doesn't exist on a website. It doesn't exist anywhere. And that's probably been the most disappointing thing for me is that you would have to dig, dig, dig to find out who were the first black designers. Well, you have to be right. If you're not right, then you'll miss it because we don't write things down. I'm speaking it, I mean, here we are talking but like this isn't written down. You will have to watch it. You will have to hear it. Yeah, yeah. So I would say you'll be experiencing it in real time and you'll be experiencing the history in real time. And then over the years, we will develop our own culture. We will develop different traditions and things that we do but it will be different than the traditional cultural experiences that the other HBCUs provide. We just don't have that history. We don't have that. And so we're not gonna try to fake it but if we have these sister school relationships, shoot I'm gonna go hang out in Louisiana. I'm gonna go hang out in Atlanta, right? So like given our students the opportunity to do that and experience it through our sister school partners. Gotcha, thank you. Do you have any last things to share, things that I did not ask, anything like that? I mean, I love the fact that you brought up the sister school part. That's honestly my most important part of the equation. I'm not trying to bogart my way into this, into this I would say fraternity or sorority. I'm not trying to do that. I just wanna find my place and hopefully- Hopefully we're welcomed, but it's a reciprocal thing. We're here to make the overall whole better and carve out a space that we can be an ally to everyone else that's in the same space. And then I would say lastly, probably the most important part for me too is bringing back Violet T. Lewis's name. Bringing back who she was as a woman, bringing back who she was as an entrepreneur, bringing back who she was as a trailblazer. I mean, she's one of three women to find any black copy of the PC, one of three. And no one knows who she is. And I think that is the most disappointing part in the equation is that she was almost forgotten because I don't think there was, there was no social media back then and there was no Instagram and everything else. So we're gonna provide all of that. We're gonna provide her history and what she was able to do and chart her path. She was ahead of her time. And what she simply did in 1928 is actually what we're doing today. So she simply created a college that offered certification programs for women who wanted to learn office skills to work in the office, okay? Not a degree, she offered a certification program, right? We're offering certification programs in partnership with the biggest brands in this industry. And so even though we'll be able to issue degrees, but which one would you wanna have if you want to be an aspiring footwear designer? A certification that says Nike approves of the education that you have received. Nike paid for it. And paid for it, yes, that's two wins right there. Or a degree that says, hey, you learn design the right way and you might have paid for it as well. So that's what we're charting down that path. And we're looking to kind of make people rethink education also and then connecting the dots between education and corporate America that directly leads you to a job when you're finished. Yes, okay, that's it. I don't have anything else. Thank you for taking the time. To connect with me for this purpose. If you are watching, please do follow Pencil Lewis across social media to keep up, please share this story. And yeah, that's all I have. Thank you so much and thank you all for watching. Thank you. All right, thank you.