Source: Pensole Lewis College
Barrett-Jackson leads their first auction of the season with a charity car event. The auction was started with Mike Simons, chief engineer of the Cadillac Escalade dropping the gavel to begin the bidding. All proceeds from the auction benefitted the Center for Creative Studies for the launch of the Detroit chapter of Pensole Lewis College of Business and Design, an HBCU (Historically Black College or University) that focuses on career development in the design industry. Michelle Mauzy donated an additional $25,000. The total to support Pensole Lewis College? $525,000. This is easily one of the coolest events in the sneaker industry: The First Retail Production 2023 Escalade-V VIN 001.
During the momentous occasion, Dr. D’Wayne Edwards, the school’s founder and a prominent designer in the athletic footwear industry, announced that he will work with the winning bidder to create a pair of custom sneakers that will be manufactured as a one-of-one run. The folks at General Motors donated a unique Ron Fellows Spring Mountain experience along with a beautiful rendering of the vehicle.
While most of the industry gets hyped about a new sneaker release, there is important work taking place that could lead to the restructure of higher learning. Pensole is a college built on a platform of competitive entry to courses of study built in conjunction with businesses who need the type of design students being educated at the HBCU. These companies, with assistance from the city of Detroit, combine to provide a tuition free education. If Pensole continues to produce graduates who have both classroom and on-the-job training and have a depth of knowledge improving the talent pool for employers who support the school, it creates a cyclical educational solution which could eventually eradicate the need for student loans. Cadillac and Barrett-Jackson’s support is akin to the endowments of larger universities. This is an incredible and important moment.
