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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.

      Leading toward a career in community

      by Symantha Dattilo

      A prestigious civic leadership award will play an important role in helping Central Michigan University student Brooke Gordon achieve her goal of becoming an active citizen.

      Gordon, a senior from Rochester Hills, was named a 2024-25 Newman Civic Fellow. She aspires to a career in higher education administration to ensure students are knowledgeable about the impact they can make by unifying to create social change.

      “My passion for civic engagement stems from a deep-seated belief in the power of individuals,” Gordon said. “Movements are strengthened when individuals come together, pooling their resources, ideas, and energy to create meaningful change.”

      She continues to prioritize community through her role as Student Coordinator for CMU Alternative Breaks in the Mary Ellen Brandell Volunteer Center. Alternative Breaks is an experiential learning volunteer program that aims to teach students about life-long active citizenship.

      She has served as an orientation mentor, a Leadership Safari guide, a student employee in the CMU Student Food Pantry and the School of Politics, Society, Justice, and Public Service, and with CMU Program Board. She was also a unified partner with Special Olympics Michigan and an intern with the Michigan Association of Secondary School Principals.

      Brooke is passionate about civic engagement, suicide prevention, access to equitable education, and challenges facing the LGBTQ+ community.

      “Brooke is amazing. She’s passionate about making the world a better place,” Symantha Dattilo, Interim Director of the Volunteer Center said. “She is consistently seeking new opportunities for learning and dialogue. I’ve really loved working with her the last couple of years.”

      Gordon joins a 2024-25 group of fellows. The Newman Civic Fellowship recognizes students who stand out for their commitment to creating positive change. Fellows are nominated by their university president or chancellor based on their potential for public leadership.

      The organization was named for the late Frank Newman, an advocate for civic engagement in higher education and one of the founders of Campus Compact.

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