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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.
The Central Michigan University Board of Trustees wrapped up its first meetings of 2020 this morning, approving new room and board rates for 2020-2021 and receiving updates on initiatives such as strategic envisioning and the website redesign.
President Bob Davies and Provost Mary C. Schutten highlighted significant progress on the strategic envisioning process and the President's and Provost's Fund for Program Innovation and Excellence.
At committee meetings Wednesday, Schutten announced that 17 recipients were selected out of more than 60 nominations requesting nearly $14 million in support. She told trustees that funded projects focus on a variety of themes, including technology, student support, data science, health and gaming.
Davies elaborated on the fund process and recipients in his opening report to the board.
"I strongly believe that the projects we have selected are transformational and will improve our ability to serve our students now and in the years ahead," Davies said. "I look forward to hearing from our award recipients as they begin work on these exciting initiatives."
Trustees approved a 2% increase in room and board rates for residence halls and university apartments for 2020-2021 and a 5% increase for graduate housing.
Barrie Wilkes, vice president for finance and administrative services, said the university continues to develop new options to meet student needs and demands.
Examples he noted are the addition of a fourth, lower-rate dining plan option and the continuation of a 30% room discount for students opting to live with three other roommates — instead of two — in three of the four original Towers residence halls (Troutman, Trout and Cobb).
Trustees also heard from Abby Dean, director of integrated marketing for University Communications, on the university's website redesign project that launched in summer 2019.
Also at the formal session, trustees approved or accepted:
In his opening report, Davies elaborated on strategic envisioning progress.
"All of our strategic pathway working groups have been meeting, and several are beginning to seek input from divisions and departments around the university," he said. "We launched a new website for the process to ensure we are transparent in our work and to enable all stakeholders to easily participate."
Davies also updated the board on new food insecurity initiatives launched last month.
"To date, more than 520 students have received a block of meal swipes, and $1 meals are served in the Down Under Food Court twice a week," he said.
In addition, Davies noted that CMU is taking additional steps to address student mental health, moving forward a proposal for a fall wellness break for this October, which will be scheduled soon.
"We continue to look for innovative ways to support our students' health and well-being. I appreciate our community's commitment to helping them succeed on their personal and educational journeys at CMU," he said.
Davies also recognized:
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.