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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.

      Bennett selected as associate dean of the College of Business Administration

      by Erica Peters

      A woman in a blue jacket and glasses smiles at the camera.Chris Moberg, dean of Central Michigan University’s College of Business Administration has named Dr. Misty M. Bennett to serve as an associate dean in the college. Bennett assumed this new role on March 1, 2023.

      As an associate dean, Bennett will work with department chairs, program directors, college-level committees, and the directors of Business Student Services and the Office of Student Engagement and Professional Development, to advance college priorities. She will provide leadership and direction in support of academic planning, program development, enrollment management, curricular processes, student services, and the implementation of diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives.

      Bennett currently serves as the assistant dean of academic programs in the College of Business Administration and is an associate professor of human resources in the Department of Management. Bennett holds three degrees from Central Michigan University: a doctorate in Organizational Psychology, master’s degree in Industrial/Organizational Psychology, and a Bachelor of Science in Psychology and Chemistry.

      Questions?