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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.
Community invited to attend CMU Presidential Investiture ceremony
by
Kevin Essebaggers
To formally confer the symbols and authority of the Central Michigan University presidency to Neil MacKinnon, the CMU Board of Trustees will hold an investiture ceremony at 10:00 a.m., Friday April 4, in Plachta Auditorium.
The board unanimously appointed MacKinnon to be CMU’s 16th President in September 2024.He began his tenure November 1.
Investiture ceremonies are common during the first year of a new president’s tenure and serve as a way for the president to share their vision for the institution. It also is an opportunity for the university community to gather and celebrate new leadership.
President MacKinnon will describe the power of higher education and its impact on individuals and communities during his investiture speech. He also will share his thoughts on transformation and innovation at CMU — and the reasons he is optimistic about the university’s future.
The CMU Board of Trustees invites students, faculty, staff and alumni along with civic and government leaders, representatives from other colleges and universities, and the community at large. Many of President MacKinnon’s colleagues, friends and mentors from previous institutions also will attend.
Other speakers at the ceremony will include Michigan Association of State Universities Chief Executive Officer Daniel Hurley and individuals speaking on behalf of CMU students, alumni, and faculty and staff.
Todd Regis, chair of the CMU Board of Trustees, will preside over the investiture ceremony and will present the presidential medallion alongside Trustee Vice Chairs Denise Williams Mallett and Regine Beauboeuf.
Chair Regis also will share the winning pattern from the campuswide vote to choose an official CMU tartan. The tartan will be used at several presidential and university events to display CMU maroon-and-gold pride.
All who attend the investiture ceremony are invited to a post-event reception with the president and university leaders in the Powers Hall ballroom.
Signature Programs
Isabella Bank Institute for Entrepreneurship
Explore special opportunities to learn new skills and travel the world.
Compete & Win
New Venture Challenge 2025
Present your venture and win BIG at the New Venture Challenge.
Build your skills
Workshops and events
Boost your entrepreneurial skills through our workshops, mentor meetups and pitch competitions.
Develop your ideas
IDEA Den
Learn about the entrepreneurship makerspace on campus in Grawn Hall.
Ready, Set, Pitch!
Make-A-Pitch 2024
Present a 2-minute pitch at the Make-A-Pitch Competition and you could win prizes and bragging rights!
Meet Mentors
Mentorship and support
Connect with mentors and faculty who are here to support the next generation of CMU entrepreneurs.
Support students
Make an impact
Are you a CMU alum looking to support CMU student entrepreneurs? Learn how you can support or donate to the Entrepreneurship Institute.
View our programming newsletter
Alumni give back to students through mentorship, real-world experiences
The Wakeling Gendron Entrepreneurial Scholars program wrapped its first cohort this academic year.
Students compete to win cash prizes at the New Venture Challenge
Pitched 40 ventures at NMV Challenge, Friday, April 19, CMU. Judges awarded $100,000 in cash prizes.
Wakeling Gendron Scholars make a life-changing trip to Texas
Wakeling and Gendron Scholars attended SXSW in Texas, meeting industry leaders and gaining entrepreneurial insights.
Business barriers lead CMU students to a new venture
Justin Ashman and Philip Mundt won Central Michigan University's New Venture Competition with their 3-D printing operation, Form Further.
