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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.

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      Every journey is unique. Explore the opportunities that interest you.

      CMU faculty’s art on exhibit

      by Henry Heller

      A man standing on a porch at the main entrance of Morean Center for clay

      Israel Davis, member of the CMU Art Department, hosted a solo exhibition and workshop at the Morean Center for Clay in Florida, one of the largest potteries in the United States. 

      For this exhibit, titled “Devil May Care”, Davis was inspired by the care-free spirit of Bicycle Motorcross (BMX), skateboarding, and the art of graffiti along with the thrill of all three during his youth. He presents his artwork as trying to encapsulate that feeling of risk he had while doing BMX and describes the work as “The physical action of fragmentation coalesces with collaged imagery in the guise of poetic surveillance.” 

      The Morean Center for Clay has been home to many famous artists and their creations. Davis’ exhibit included many different designs that incorporated both 2D and 3D elements such as collages, pots, and wall-mounted tile. He was happy to have the chance to teach a pottery class in addition to his exhibit. 

       Davis has been inspired to create ever since he was a child, finding drawing as a way to escape. He says he now sees himself “as a lifelong learner seeking a creative and productive lifestyle”. He has enjoyed collaborations with students of both art and music programs, especially a project where 20 CMU students created and designed ceramic drums for a performance. Davis looks forward to similar projects in the future with many more students from different fields.

      This story is brought to you by the Office of Research and Graduate Studies.

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