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.

2025 NVC Competition Live Stream

2025 NVC Awards Live Stream

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.

A student standing with a faculty member holding big winning checks from the New Venture Challenge 2024.

Start up

Build up your venture idea.

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A student smiling and standing in front of his venture display at the 2024 New Venture Challenge.

Family business

Explore the Alternative Entrepreneurial Pathways category at NVC.

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A close-up of the Prusa i3 MK3 printer in the entrepreneurship makerspace, the IDEA Den in Grawn Hall 166.

Product and prototype design

Create and patent your ideas.

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Innovation

Explore your ideas and build your skills.

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President names next VP of finance and administrative services

by Sanjay Gupta

President Bob Davies has selected Nicholas Long to serve as CMU’s next vice president of finance and administrative services, effective July 27.

President Bob Davies has selected Nicholas Long to serve as Central Michigan University's next vice president of finance and administrative services, effective July 27. Long replaces Barrie Wilkes, who retires this month.

As head of the Finance and Administrative Services division, Long will oversee several CMU departments — including Auxiliary Services, Facilities Management, Financial Planning and Budgets, Financial Services and Reporting, Human Resources, and CMU Police.

Since 2018, Long has served as assistant vice chancellor of budget and financial planning for the University of Texas System's eight academic institutions and six health institutions throughout the state.

In that position, he oversaw and coordinated the annual all-funds budget for the system with $21.7 billion in revenue. Among his responsibilities, he also:

Developed long-range strategic financial plans and managed the biannual legislative appropriation request process for the system and its 14 institutions.
Advised system leadership on strategic financial matters and analyzed and prepared budget forecasts, plans and ad hoc reports.
Designed, implemented and oversaw the budget process, related systems and related policy changes and recommended and implemented changes to the budget structure and process as needed.

"This is a crucial and challenging time for CMU and for higher education overall, and I'm certain that Nick's expertise will help drive positive changes for our university," Davies said. "We will benefit from his strong budget management experience, strategic and thoughtful approach to making decisions, and his proven leadership.

Before joining UT, Long was vice president of the higher education practice at Kaufman Hall & Associates, a performance solutions company, from 2015-18. He held education-focused positions with Huron Consulting Group from 2003-14 and also previously worked at Macromedia Inc., Oracle Corp., Ernst & Young, Andersen Consulting (now Accenture), and Bank of America Investment Management.

"Central Michigan University is an institution positioned for great success and growth, and I am thrilled to be joining President Davies and his leadership team in this effort," Long said. "I very much look forward to identifying and driving strategic investments that will help to fulfill the university's mission."

Long earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in economics with an applied mathematics minor in 1991 from the University of California, San Diego-Revelle College. In 1997, he earned his MBA with concentrations in finance and information technology from the University of California, Irvine-Graduate School of Management.

Provost Mary C. Schutten and Michael Alford, Zyzelewski Family Associate Vice President and director of athletics, co-chaired a 12-member search committee, advised by search firm DHR International.