
Start up
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.
Central Michigan University President Neil MacKinnon has identified an interim leadership team to support University Communications following the resignation of John Veilleux, the current vice president and chief marketing officer. Abby Dean, deputy chief marketing officer, and Ari Harris, executive director of strategic communications, will serve as co-leads for the unit beginning in early January 2025.
Dean, a CMU graduate, joined the UCOM team in February 2019 as the director of integrated marketing. In her current capacity as deputy chief marketing officer, Dean oversees the 16-member Integrated Marketing and Digital Strategy team. Her team is responsible for stewardship of the CMU “We do” brand across all communication channels, including the cmich.edu website; developing comprehensive multi-channel marketing campaigns; managing media purchases; collaborating with campus partners to increase student enrollment; and more.
Harris joined CMU in December 2017 as an assistant director of communications. She now serves as the head of the strategic communications team, which leads public relations efforts including proactive and reactive media relations, internal and external news and storytelling, executive communications, crisis and issue management, campus partner training and more.Both Dean and Harris had prior higher education communications and marketing experience, and both have served on the University Communications leadership team for several years.
“Abby and Ari’s knowledge, skills and backgrounds complement each other well, and they have demonstrated a passionate commitment to supporting the University Communications team,” MacKinnon said. “They have strong relationships with leaders across campus, and I am confident they will keep the team’s good work going as we seek the department’s next leader.”
MacKinnon said the university would begin a national search for the next vice president and chief marketing officer early in the new year.
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.