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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.

      Creative Writing alum shares rare poetry collection with students

      by Sarah Buckley

      Students in Professor Robert Fanning’s Advanced Poetry Workshop received a surprise guest November 22 when Central Michigan University alumnus Jett W. Whitehead visited to show off his rare book treasures, including signed first edition books and broadsides by famous poets Langston Hughes, Robert Frost, Anne Sexton, Theodore Roethke and others.

      Whitehead received a master's degree in English with a creative writing concentration from CMU in 1977. He is the owner of Jett W. Whitehead Rare Books.

      Whitehead says he was inspired to become a rare poetry book collector after visiting a faculty member’s house during his time at CMU. Since opening his business in 1991, he’s kept busy touring the country’s book fairs—and the internet—and wheeling and dealing the rarest poetry book editions.

      For several years, Whitehead has awarded a $250 prize to a CMU student for their poetry. Renamed the Jett W. Whitehead Poetry Award in 2022, he endowed the award and increased the prize amount to $500.

      Whitehead says it’s a way to give back due to his deep passion for creative writing and poetry, coupled with his appreciation for CMU. He also wants to recognize student writing as being more than just a class assignment. He said, “My goal is to see the program grow and continue in longevity."

      During Whitehead’s visit to CMU, Department of English, Language and Literature faculty and staff also made a surprise visit to the classroom to applaud Whitehead and thank him for his history of generous gifts to the department.

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