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A student standing and speaking in front of a large crowd in French Auditorium.

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.

      CMU Professor of Horn, Bruce Bonnell, released an album together with Grammy Award winner, Andrew Pelletier, and pianist Peter Green, on the 6th of May, 2022. The album, titled "It's About Time!," received high acclaim from the Horn Call, the journal of the International Horn Society, and The Horn Player, the journal of the British Horn Society.

      Running at about 61 minutes in length, the CD starts and finishes with works for two horns and piano: Timepiece, by David R. Gillingham, and Time and Space, by Richard Bissill. Also included in the album are works by Samuel Adler, Alan Civil, Christopher Dietz, and CMU Composition Faculty, Jay C. Batzner.

      The album was recorded in Staples Family Concert Hall at CMU and was released by Centaur Records. The artwork was produced by CMU Faculty Mark Cox.

      A picture of CMU Horn Faculty Bruce Bonnell holding his recently released album
      CMU Horn Faculty Bruce Bonnell holding a copy of "It's About Time!" with album art by Mark Cox

      Questions?