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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.

      Governor appoints new Trustees to CMU Board

      by Aaron Mills

      Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has appointed two new members to the Central Michigan University Board of Trustees. The two new members fill the roles vacated by Isaiah Oliver and Michael Sandler, whose terms expire this month.

      Dr. Ashok Kondur, of West Bloomfield, is an interventional cardiologist at Dearborn Cardiology, and serves as director of mechanical circulatory support and complex and high-risk coronary intervention at Henry Ford Health and as chairman of the Garden City Hospital Division of Cardiology. Kondur earned a bachelor’s degree in science and biology from Sarvodaya College in India; an MBA in finance and marketing from Indiana University’s Kelly School of Business; and a medical degree from Osmania Medical College in India. He completed residencies and specialty training in cardiology and internal medicine at Wayne State University.

      Jeff Stoutenburg, of Midland, is director of state government affairs at Dow. Stoutenburg, a two-time CMU graduate, received a bachelor’s degree in political science and a master’s degree in public administration. He is president of the Michigan Economic Development Foundation and serves on the executive committee of the Michigan Manufacturers Association and on the board of the Michigan Chamber of Commerce.  He also currently serves on the board of the Central Michigan University Research Corporation.

      “I look forward to introducing Trustee Dr. Kondur to the CMU community and to welcoming Trustee Stoutenburg back to campus,” said CMU President Neil MacKinnon. “Their experience and expertise will be outstanding additions to the Board and to our university.”

      Both new trustees will serve an eight-year term, subject to the advice and consent of Michigan’s State Senate. Their service on the board begins January 1, 2025, and will extend through December 31, 2032. The CMU Board of Trustees consists of eight members appointed by Michigan’s governor under authority granted by the state constitution.

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