College for Creative Studies' 2009 school year begins at revived Argonaut

"It just feels terrific," says College for Creative Studies president Rick Rogers. What is he so happy about? School is in session at the college's redeveloped Argonaut Building in New Center.

The floors and halls of the A. Alfred Taubman Center for Design Education, as it has been renamed, have been bustling since its opening on September 8. "The first day of school was actually a really emotional experience," says Rogers. At an assembly in the gymnasium, undergraduate and graduate CCS students gathered with the middle and high school students attending the Henry Ford Academy: School for Creative Studies, which also housed in the building. "It was an entirely new experience for me...all these years I've been running a college, not a middle school or high school!"

Although the educational component of the complex is active, there is still work to be done on some of its other aspects. "There are number of features that will act to draw the public into the building in the near future, including retail activity on the first floor and a conference center, that will be completed by the end of December, that is going to be available for outside organizations to use for big events," says Rogers. "Also, a couple of organizations are pondering possibly developing a creative business accelerator -- there are some pretty serious conversations under way."

The reach of CCS is poised to expand significantly with the opening of this campus, explains Rogers. "If we can tie some professional business activities into the creative and educational activities already going on in the building, we could have a really powerful model... of what might be able to be developed in terms of innovation, a generation of new businesses, products, research, collaboration and mentoring," he says. "It's going to be very beneficial to Detroit's economy as well as to the educational needs of Detroit students."

Read about the capital campaign for the Argonaut redevelopment here and watch a Model D TV piece here.

Source: Rick Rogers, CCS
Writer: Kelli B. Kavanaugh