The Michigan Language Center was recently featured on MLive, which documented our 48-year history in downtown Ann Arbor and our continuous cultural and business expansions.
The article notes that “while dozens of businesses in recent years have left downtown, the center is a city staple,” highlighting MLC’s resilience through changing market dynamics—including navigating the pandemic and two intentional location changes—while remaining an anchor for international residents, professionals, and students.
The feature highlights many milestones from the past four decades, most notably:
- A New Chapter Downtown: The piece highlights MLC’s recent move on Wednesday, July 1st, to our new location at 110 N. State St., marking a new era after nine years on E. Huron Street. This move keeps MLC embedded in the core of downtown Ann Arbor, a value that dates back to 1978 when we originally launched operations at 309 S. State St..
- Evolution of Services: MLive noted our growth from a traditional retail English program into a multifaceted language school and professional development provider. MLC has expanded its offerings to include corporate communications and professional skills training tailored for international professionals.
- Cross-Generational Leadership: The article looks back at our founding by Ira Fisher, who ran MLC until the late 2010s. Leadership then transitioned to Moses and Julie Lee, who have both run the center since 2017. The feature touches on how combining entrepreneurial backgrounds with foundational education values has allowed MLC to continuously adapt and grow.
As CEO Moses Lee shared in this piece, the focus has remained on keeping MLC a community asset.
“We wanted to do something where it was a community asset that we could continue the services and products and bring a fresh perspective to it.”
Read the full article to learn more about our founding history, student success stories, and our ongoing vision for corporate and international language training in Michigan.