Indian American couple gifts USD 20 mn University of North Texas to set up AI, Advanced Analytics college

In recognition of the gift, UNT will establish the Anuradha and Vikas Sinha College of Artificial Intelligence and Advanced Analytics, which will serve as an academic and research hub focused on artificial intelligence, intelligent systems and data analytics, the University said in a statement on Tuesday.

The college will bring together expertise in areas including AI, cybersecurity, data science, advanced analytics, health informatics, information science, library science and learning technologies. "Artificial intelligence will be one of the defining technologies of our generation, and universities have an essential role to play in preparing the people who will shape its future," Vikas Sinha said.

The college, he said, would go beyond teaching students how to use AI and instead prepare them to "build it, understand it, question it, govern it and apply it responsibly".

The gift will establish six permanent endowments supporting college leadership, student scholarships, endowed professorships, entrepreneurship and incubation, advanced research and emerging technologies.

"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," UNT President Harrison Keller said.

The college 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.

It will also house the Applied Artificial Intelligence and Data Science Institute, which will connect AI and analytics research and education across UNT and facilitate interdisciplinary research, shared infrastructure, external research funding and industry partnerships. Vikas and Anu Sinha came to the US from India after earning bachelor's degrees in civil engineering from Sri Venkateswara University. Both also earned graduate degrees from Florida Atlantic University.

Vikas later studied at Northwestern University before earning his PhD from UNT in 2023. He is now vice president of the Mainframe Software Division at Broadcom and has served on the UNT College of Information Leadership Board since 2023.

The couple's investment in UNT has grown alongside their involvement with the university. In 2024, they gave a gift establishing the Anuradha and Vikas Sinha Department of Data Science, along with endowments supporting scholarships, faculty, research and special initiatives.

A year later, they made another major gift to create the Sinha Innovation Lab for Data Science. "Education has opened doors for us throughout our lives, and we want to hold those doors open for others," Vikas Sinha said. The latest gift will advance UNT's goals related to student success, research and innovation while preparing graduates for a workforce increasingly shaped by AI and data, the University said.

UNT will hold an event later this year to celebrate the naming of the college. The University of North Texas is a Carnegie R1 public research university and the largest university in the Dallas-Fort Worth region. It has campuses in Denton and Frisco and serves nearly 44,000 students through 230 degree programmes.