Cheyney University is planning to partner with Thomas Jefferson University and Starbucks as part of its new business model, writes Susan Snyder for the Philadelphia Inquirer.

The goal is to create a new institute focused on African-Americans promoting the school’s legacy as the oldest historically black college in the nation. The Cheyney University Institute for the Contemporary African-American Experience was a key recommendation by the Cheyney task force.

The institute will explore issues relating to race, ethnicity, access, and diversity in American society.

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It will also offer new internship and job opportunities while helping position the university as a leader in finding answers to some of today’s problems.

“We’re in this for the long haul,” said Cheyney president Aaron Walton. “We’re transforming Cheyney for the future.”

Walton announced the new plan on campus to an audience that included Gov. Tom Wolf and other officials.

Read more about Cheyney University’s new business model in the Philadelphia Inquirer here.

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