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Isabella Bank Institute for Entrepreneurship

We are a dedicated institute for student entrepreneurs across campus and beyond. We aim to maximize your success by fostering your entrepreneurial mindset, promote inter-disciplinary collaboration and provide support for the creation and development of your new ventures. Jumpstart your ideas and get involved today!

Tune in for excitement!

Passion. Potential. Pitches. Don't miss any of the 2025 New Venture Challenge excitement.

Tune in Friday, April 11 at 1 p.m. for great ideas and fierce competition. Then, join the judges, mentors, spectators and teams as they see who is going home with thousands of dollars in venture financing. The awards broadcast begins at 6:30 p.m. and one team will walk away as the overall best venture. 

Start your entrepreneurial journey

Central Michigan University’s College of Business Administration is the home of the Isabella Bank Institute for Entrepreneurship and the first Department of Entrepreneurship in the state of Michigan. We are a student-centric hub where experiential, curricular, and external entrepreneurial opportunities intersect.

Our mission is to maximize student success by fostering a campus-wide entrepreneurial mindset that promotes inter-disciplinary collaboration and the creation of new ventures.

We aim to create innovative programming, boost cross-campus and ecosystem collaboration and provide a comprehensive mentoring program.

Our institute provides extracurricular opportunities and is open to all undergraduate and graduate CMU students.

Student opportunities

  • Meet experienced alumni, faculty, entrepreneurs, investors, and other business and political leaders.
  • Learn practical skills, innovative thinking, and connect with mentors and entrepreneurial resources.
  • Attend skill-building workshops and compete in pitch competitions and Hackathons.
  • Take part in special scholarship programs and travel experiences.
  • Pitch your venture at our signature New Venture Challenge event and compete for up to $20,000 in cash awards.

      Find your path

      Are you interested in becoming an entrepreneur?

      Every journey is unique. Explore the opportunities that interest you.

      CMU receives 80 nominations for Staff Excellence Awards

      by Ari Harris

      80 Central Michigan University staff members have been nominated for the 2025 Staff Excellence Awards — nearly double the number of nominations received last year.

      The awards, which recognize staff employees for outstanding service to the university, were first awarded in 1993 and returned last year after a brief post-COVID hiatus. Anyone at CMU can nominate an individual for recognition, and this year, nominators responded enthusiastically.

      “We received a wide array of nominations with great examples of CMU staff members who go the extra mile to support students, staff and administrators,” said Joe Garrison, assistant to the university president for strategic initiatives and co-chair of the Shared Governance Council. “Among the nominees were a number of unsung heroes who are very passionate about CMU.”

      The awards are a joint effort between CMU’s Shared Governance Council and the university’s Office of Human Resources. Nominations are reviewed by a group of faculty and staff members from the university’s Shared Governance Council; forms are carefully redacted so that reviewers do not see any personally identifiable information about the nominees until their selections have been made.

      Garrison said that 20 nominees will be selected to receive this year’s Staff Excellence Awards, and notification will begin later this spring. A ceremony to honor all nominees and recipients will be held at 1 p.m. Tuesday, September 23, 2025, in the University Center Rotunda.

      Staff Excellence Award recipients receive special gold name tags, award plaques, and a free one-year parking pass.

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