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.

2025 NVC Competition Live Stream

2025 NVC Awards Live Stream

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.

A student standing with a faculty member holding big winning checks from the New Venture Challenge 2024.

Start up

Build up your venture idea.

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A student smiling and standing in front of his venture display at the 2024 New Venture Challenge.

Family business

Explore the Alternative Entrepreneurial Pathways category at NVC.

Learn more

A close-up of the Prusa i3 MK3 printer in the entrepreneurship makerspace, the IDEA Den in Grawn Hall 166.

Product and prototype design

Create and patent your ideas.

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Innovation

Explore your ideas and build your skills.

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Open forums scheduled for College of Business Administration associate dean finalists

by Erica Peters

Three finalists for the associate dean position in Central Michigan University’s College of Business Administration will meet with university stakeholders next week.

Open forums will provide members of the CMU community with opportunities to meet the candidates and learn about their backgrounds and interest in this leadership position. Links to the position description, candidate feedback forms, and the option of virtual attendance at the forums are available below and through the Office of the Provost website.

January 9 – John D. Diltz

Diltz is a lecturer in the Department of Finance and Law. Diltz earned a doctorate and a master’s degree in economics at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and a Bachelor of Science in Economics from Purdue University. Diltz’s open forum will be held from 10:30-11:30 on Monday, January 9, in the Grawn Hall 264 and online.

January 11 – Deborah M. Gray

Gray is a professor of marketing in the Department of Marketing and Hospitality Services, and also serves as the assessment coordinator in the College of Business Administration. Gray earned a doctorate in Management from Royal Holloway College at the University London, an MBA from Central Michigan University, and a Bachelor of Science in Marketing and an Associate of Applied Science in Diversified Business from Ferris State University. Gray’s open forum will be held from 10:30-11:30 on Wednesday, January 11, in the Grawn Hall 264 and online.

January 13 – Misty M. Bennett

Bennett is the assistant dean of academic programs in the College of Business Administration and an associate professor of human resources in the Department of Management. Bennett holds three degrees from Central Michigan University: a doctorate in Organizational Psychology, master’s degree in Industrial/Organizational Psychology, and a Bachelor of Science in Psychology and Chemistry. Bennett’s open forum will be held from 1:00-2:00 on Friday, January 13, in the Grawn Hall 264 and online.

Dean Chris Moberg announced the associate dean search in November 2022. Paula Lancaster, dean of the College of Education and Human Services, is chair of the search committee, which includes the following members:

Hayam Alnakhli, assistant professor in the Department of Marketing and Hospitality Services Administration.
Abu Amin, associate professor and chair in the Department of Finance and Law.
Karen Arthur, director of Business Student Services.
Symantha Clark, a senior, marketing major, BRC peer mentor, and CBA Student Ambassador.
Aparna Lhila, associate professor in the Department of Economics and director of the Master of Business Administration program.
Jim Nesbitt, fixed-term faculty in the Department of Business Information Systems.
Prajakta Nivargi, a graduate student in the Master of Science in Information Systems program.
Lori Olsen, professor and interim chair in the Department of Management.
Erica Peters, executive assistant to the provost.
Michelle Yang, assistant professor in the Department of Management.