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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.

      ROTC cadets head north to help after historic ice storm

      by Eric Baerren
      Three men in camouflage uniforms carry a large tree limb through the grass.
      Three members of CMU's ROTC cadre help clear fallen wood downed during a late March ice storm in northern Michigan.

      In a time of need, the citizens of Onaway discovered they could count on one of their own, a cadet in Central Michigan University’s Reserve Officers’ Training Corps.

      Ian MacDonald, a CMU student from the small town in Presque Isle County, organized and led a group of seven ROTC cadets to help clear debris there from trees and limbs downed by a massive ice storm earlier this spring.

      Wood chips spray right to left as a man in camouflage and ear-protecting muffs uses a chainsaw on a downed tree limb.
      An adjunct faculty member with CMU's military science and leadership department uses a chainsaw on a downed tree limb near Onaway.

      "It was an honor to give back to the community that has given me so much,” MacDonald said.

      MacDonald’s group traveled to Onaway in mid-April to help residents return to their homes and clear debris. Their work helped restore public access to cemeteries, churches and parks.

      The work started before the cadets arrived in Onaway.

      MacDonald planned and organized the trip with the help of Lt. Col. Ryan Greening and Maj. Nicholas Andrychowski, adjunct faculty members in CMU’s Department of Military Science and Leadership. He figured out how many cadets they’d need, and the necessary equipment and safety measures.

      The March 28-30 storm paralyzed much of the northern Lower Peninsula for days. An estimate 3 million acres of forest was damaged.

      "It's our duty to serve the community, especially in times of need," he said. "Being able to help our fellow Michiganders recover from this storm is an honor."

      A young man in camouflage pants, a camouflage cadet cap and an olive green T-shirt carries a section of tree.
      A member of CMU's ROTC cadre helps clear storm debris in Onaway.

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