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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.

      Teacher and special education chairperson receives honorable mention

      by Claire Doty

      Troy Hicks, Chairperson for the Teacher and Special Education Department, has received an Honorable Mention for the 2025 CCCC Outstanding Book Award in the Edited Collection category for Better Practices: Exploring the Teaching of Writing in Online and Hybrid Spaces. This collection was co-edited with Amy Cicchino form Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. The Conference on College Composition and Communication (CCCC) is a constituent organization within the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE).

      Talking about Better Practices, Hicks says, “Knowing that there is no single set of ‘best’ practices for teaching writing – and that our colleagues each bring a variety of experiences and expertise whether they teach in face-to-face, online, or hybrid courses – we are proud to feature the voices of over three dozen intentional, engaging composition instructors in this collection.”

      Cicchino adds, “We were so delighted to bring together talented educators from across the United States to share their online lessons, which are informed by national standards and adaptable for both online and hybrid learning environments.”

      This year’s CCCC Book Award selection committee noted that in the Better Practices collection, Hicks and Cicchino weave statements from relevant scholarly organizations to create an exigence for better, not best, practices. The unanimous sentiment among the committee was expressed by one member who wrote “what a wealth of perspectives offered in the chapters!”

      Hicks will be announced as a recipient of an Honorable Mention for the CCCC Outstanding Book Award on Friday, April 11, during the 2025 CCCC Annual Convention in Baltimore, MD.

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