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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.

      Psychology faculty member to receive lifetime achievement award

      by Sanjna Jassi
      CMU psychology faculty member Debra Poole to receive a lifetime achievement award from the Governor’s Task Force on Child Abuse and Neglect.

      Mug-Poole-Debra-2016Psychology faculty member Debra Poole will receive a lifetime achievement award during the 23rd annual Governor's Task Force on Child Abuse and Neglect Summit Nov. 14.

      Poole is an expert in the social policy implications of basic research in language and cognitive development whose primary research focuses on children's eyewitness testimony and forensic interviewing of children. Her research has been funded by grants from both the National Institute of Mental Health and the National Science Foundation.

      In addition to conducting studies to evaluate interviewing techniques, Poole works with policy groups to draft interviewing guidelines and frequently presents to professionals in child protective services, law enforcement, and other fields.

      Poole was previously awarded fellow status by the Association for Psychological Science, a designation given to individuals who have made sustained outstanding contributions to the science of psychology. Her latest book is "Interviewing Children: The Science of Conversations in Forensic Contexts" (2016).

      Poole received her Ph.D. in developmental and experimental child psychology from the University of Iowa in 1980. She taught for seven years at Beloit College, where she chaired the psychology department, before relocating to Central Michigan University in 1987.

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