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Isabella Bank Institute for Entrepreneurship
We empower entrepreneurial thinkers—whether you’re launching a venture, building a family business, creating social impact, or driving innovation inside an organization. Turn ideas into action.
Start your entrepreneurial journey
At Central Michigan University, the Isabella Bank Institute for Entrepreneurship is more than a program—it’s where students from every major turn ideas into real impact. As Michigan’s first Department of Entrepreneurship, we’re a hub for hands-on learning, innovation, and mentorship.
Here, you’ll:
- Build an entrepreneurial mindset that sets you apart in any career path—launching ventures, shaping social missions, advancing family businesses, or driving innovation inside established companies.
- Collaborate across disciplines to create projects that matter.
- Learn from alumni, faculty, and industry leaders who’ve built their own paths.
- Gain real-world experience through workshops, hackathons, and pitch competitions.
- Compete in the New Venture Challenge, where students win up to $10,000 in cash and grants to grow their ideas.
Whether you want to start something new or transform what already exists, the Institute is your launchpad.
Take the next step!
When you’re ready to get started, stop by Grawn 164 to join the team or visit the Idea Den in Grawn 166—your space to brainstorm, build, and take the next step.
Questions?
Fire Flower,” an animated short stop-motion film directed by Central Michigan University animation faculty member Steve Leeper, recently took home the award for Best Student Stop-motion Film at the 2019 Los Angeles Animation Festival.
The initial one-minute story reel for “Fire Flower” was created in 2013 by Kayla Mitchell in Leeper’s storyboard class.
The production team also consisted of Leeper as the director and producer and Curtis Wood as the computer graphics supervisor. Sound design help came from CMU School of Music faculty member Mark Cox and Kurt Roembke, Fort Wayne, Indiana, composer.
“The experiment was to see what would happen if we gave the same kind of resources to a student production as I would making a short film through a small stop-motion studio,” Leeper said.
Serving as the director, producer and much more for this project, Leeper said he is proud to share the film and make connections for future student productions.
“We met with some of my former students and made new contacts in the animation industry that will certainly benefit our CMU animation graduates,” Leeper said.