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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.
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.
Are you interested in becoming an entrepreneur?
Every journey is unique. Explore the opportunities that interest you.
Former President William B. "Bill" Boyd, who led Central Michigan University from 1968 through 1975, died Dec. 16 at his home in Racine, Wisconsin. He was 97.
"The entire CMU family is saddened by the loss of former president Bill Boyd," said CMU President Bob Davies. "I was aware of his legacy before I joined CMU, and it lives on today. Our university is a better place because of his leadership."
Coming to Mount Pleasant from the University of California at Berkeley, Boyd began his service as CMU's president on July 1, 1968.
>>Read about President Boyd's inauguration at CMU
Boyd was one of Central's most beloved former presidents, and his contributions and accomplishments to the university were abundant. Most notably, he was very influential in making improvements in and around campus through the initiation of a campus beautification project.
Boyd also left a legacy at CMU of peace during a politically charged time. His work to create better lines of open communication was essential in supporting student nonviolent activism, particularly in regard to the 1969 October and November Moratorium events to stop the war in Vietnam, and then again in reaction to killings on the campus of Kent State University in May 1970.
Additional highlights of his presidency:
Boyd left CMU in the summer of 1975 to become president of the University of Oregon, where he led until 1980. At Oregon, his many accomplishments included strengthening of the provost model, which allowed the president to focus on broader, long-range planning. However, he may be remembered mostly for giving permission to film "Animal House" on the UO campus.
Boyd then became president — and then president emeritus — of the Johnson Foundation in Racine, Wisconsin, where he resided with his wife, Karen Johnson Boyd. After his retirement from the foundation in 1988, the couple traveled the world — India, Bhutan, New Guinea, Northern Australia and the Pacific Islands.
During an interview for Centralight magazine in 2014, Boyd was asked if he had a message for the CMU folks who remember him. "Tell 'em I love 'em," he said.
A celebration of his life will be held at a future date.
*Photos courtesy of the Clarke Historical Library
Explore special opportunities to learn new skills and travel the world.
Present your venture and win BIG at the New Venture Challenge.
Boost your entrepreneurial skills through our workshops, mentor meetups and pitch competitions.
Learn about the entrepreneurship makerspace on campus in Grawn Hall.
Present a 2-minute pitch at the Make-A-Pitch Competition and you could win prizes and bragging rights!
Connect with mentors and faculty who are here to support the next generation of CMU entrepreneurs.
Are you a CMU alum looking to support CMU student entrepreneurs? Learn how you can support or donate to the Entrepreneurship Institute.