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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.

      Two new members appointed to CMU Board of Trustees

      by User Not Found
      Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer today announced the appointment of two new members to the Central Michigan University Board of Trustees. 

      Denise Williams Mallett, of Detroit, is partner and co-founder of Marygrove Consulting. Mallet also serves as an adjunct faculty member in the College of Education at Wayne State University, where she teaches higher education leadership. Her previous roles include director of diversity and inclusion at University of Detroit Jesuit High School and Academy, peer reviewer for the Higher Learning Commission, and vice president for enrollment management and student affairs at Marygrove College. 

      Mallet earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Detroit College of Business and a master’s degree in human resource development from Marygrove College. She also earned a doctoral degree in education from Wayne State University and received a diversity and inclusion certification from Cornell University.

      Todd Regis, of Flat Rock, is vice president and director of legislative and community affairs with United Food and Commercial Workers Union Local 951. Regis has been with the UFCW for more than 30 years, including the last 28 as vice president. His previous roles include commissioner of the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, and foundation director and past president of Alpha Kappa Psi. He also served on both the Michigan Food Policy Council and Michigan Food Security Council.

      Regis earned a bachelor’s degree in general business from Western Michigan University.

      The two new trustees will each serve an eight-year term, subject to the advice and consent of Michigan’s State Senate. Their terms begin immediately and will extend through December 31, 2030. 

      “We are excited to welcome Trustee Mallett and Trustee Regis into the Central Michigan University community,” said CMU President Bob Davies. “I look forward to working alongside them to support our students and advance our university.” 

      Mallett and Regis replace former trustees Richard K. Studley and Robert F. Wardrop II, whose terms ended in December. CMU’s Board of Trustees consists of eight members appointed by Michigan’s governor under authority granted by the state constitution. 

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