Indian-origin couple gives USD 20 million to UNT for AI, analytics college

Anuradha and Vikas Sinha have given USD 20 million to the University of North Texas to establish a new college focused on artificial intelligence and advanced analytics. The gift expands research, scholarships and responsible AI training while underscoring the role of immigrants in building educational opportunity.

In Short

• The new college will unite AI, cybersecurity, data science and informatics expertise
• Two academic divisions will study intelligent systems and human information contexts
• An institute will link research, education, industry partnerships and shared infrastructure

An Indian-origin couple has donated USD 20 million to the University of North Texas, a gift that will back studies in artificial intelligence and advanced analytics while creating new opportunities for students and faculty, according to a press statement.

In recognition of the donation, the university will set up the Anuradha and Vikas Sinha College of Artificial Intelligence and Advanced Analytics. The new college will serve as an academic and research hub focused on artificial intelligence, intelligent systems and data analytics.

The statement said the college will bring together expertise in AI, cybersecurity, data science, advanced analytics, health informatics, information science, library science and learning technologies. It will be organised around two academic divisions: the Division of Applied Intelligence and Informatics, focused on building and deploying intelligent systems, and the Division of Information and Learning Applications, focused on how information and intelligent systems operate within human and institutional contexts.

The college will also house the Applied Artificial Intelligence and Data Science Institute, which will connect AI and analytics research and education across the university. It is expected to create opportunities for interdisciplinary research, shared infrastructure, external research funding and industry partnerships.

The Sinhas' support for the university has grown over time. In 2024, they gave a gift to establish the Anuradha and Vikas Sinha Department of Data Science, along with endowments for scholarships, faculty, research and special initiatives. A year later, they made another major gift to create the Sinha Innovation Lab for Data Science.

Vikas Sinha said, ‘Education has opened doors for us throughout our lives, and we want to hold those doors open for others.’ He added, ‘It is a large part of why Anu and I believe so strongly in what UNT can make possible for students – including those who may come here from another country carrying the same ambition and belief in education that we once did.’

He said, ‘For us, this gift is about paying that opportunity forward and recognising that immigrants don't simply participate in the American dream – they help build it.’ He also said artificial intelligence would be ‘one of the defining technologies of our generation’, and that universities have an essential role in preparing the people who will shape its future.

‘What excites us about UNT's vision is that it will go beyond teaching students how to use AI. It will prepare them to build it, understand it, question it, govern it and apply it responsibly – developing both the builders and the stewards of intelligent systems,’ he said.

The USD 20 million gift will establish six permanent endowments to support college leadership, student scholarships, endowed professorships, entrepreneurship and incubation, advanced research and emerging technologies.

After studying at Sri Venkateswara University and civil engineering at G Pulla Reddy Engineering College in Kurnool, Andhra Pradesh, Vikas and Anuradha moved to the United States for advanced education and earned graduate degrees from Florida Atlantic University. Vikas later studied at Northwestern University before receiving his PhD from the University of North Texas in 2023. He now serves as vice president of the Mainframe Software Division at Broadcom and has been on the UNT College of Information Leadership Board since 2023.

UNT President Harrison Keller said artificial intelligence is rapidly changing how ‘we work, conduct research and solve problems, and universities have an important responsibility to help shape what comes next’. He said, ‘The Anuradha and Vikas Sinha College of Artificial Intelligence and Advanced Analytics positions UNT to lead in that work.’

Keller added that the couple's commitment would create new opportunities for students and faculty to build, study and apply these technologies while advancing priorities under the university's Look North: UNT 2030 strategic plan, including preparing students for a changing labour market, accelerating interdisciplinary research and innovation, and creating enduring value for North Texas and the state.

The statement said the gift will advance the university's goals on student success, research and innovation, while helping prepare graduates for a workforce increasingly shaped by AI and data. UNT will mark the naming of the college at a university event later this year. The University of North Texas, a public research university and the largest in Dallas-Fort Worth, serves nearly 44,000 students across its Denton and Frisco campuses and awarded more than 13,000 degrees last year.

With PTI Inputs

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