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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.

      Open forums set for Health Professions dean finalists

      by Erica Peters

      The Central Michigan University community will have the opportunity to meet with finalists in the search for the next dean of The Herbert H. and Grace A. Dow College of Health Professions. Following a nationwide search, three candidates have been invited to campus to meet with a variety of stakeholders and attend open forums.

      Members of the university community can meet the candidates and learn about their backgrounds and interest in this leadership position during the following forums.

      All forums will be held in the Health Professions Building’s Global Telepresence room 2255 and online.

      Tuesday, March 4 – Stephen Rossi

      • 10-10:50 a.m. - Student Forum
      • 11-11:50 a.m. - Open Forum

      Rossi currently serves as interim dean of the Waters College of Health Professions at Georgia Southern University, where he is also a professor of Kinesiology. Rossi earned a doctorate in health, leisure, and human performance from Oklahoma State University; a master’s degree in exercise science from Appalachian State University; and a bachelor's degree in physical education and health from the University of North Carolina Wilmington.

      March 5 – Matthew Ford

      • 1-1:50 p.m. - Open Forum
      • 3-3:50 p.m. - Student Forum

      Ford currently serves as the interim dean of the College of Health and Human Services at Northern Arizona University, where he is also a professor of Physical Therapy and Athletic Training. Ford earned a doctorate in kinesiology and motor behavior from Pennsylvania State University; a Master of Business Administration from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln; a master’s degree in motor learning from Columbia University; and a bachelor’s degree in physical therapy from Quinnipiac College.

      March 6 – Jennifer Simpson

      • 1-1:50 p.m. - Open Forum
      • 3-3:50 p.m. - Student Forum

      Simpson currently serves as the interim head of the Department of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences at Purdue University, where she also serves as a clinical professor. Simpson earned a Doctor of Audiology from the University of Florida; a master’s degree in audiology from the University of Colorado at Boulder; and a bachelor’s degree in communication sciences and disorders from Western Washington University.

      Links to the position description, candidate feedback forms, and links to attend the forums virtually are available through the Office of the Provost website.

      Questions?