An Indian-origin couple has gifted $20 million to their alma mater, the University of North Texas (UNT), to strengthen education and research in artificial intelligence and advanced analytics, while creating new opportunities for students and faculty.
Anuradha and Vikas Sinha’s contribution will lead to the establishment of the Anuradha and Vikas Sinha College of Artificial Intelligence and Advanced Analytics, which will serve as a centre for academic and research activity in AI, intelligent systems and data analytics, according to a university statement.
The new college will bring together expertise across fields including artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, data science, advanced analytics, health informatics, information science, library science and learning technologies.
The couple’s latest gift builds on their longstanding association with UNT. In 2024, they established 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 contribution to establish 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.
“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.”
“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 added.
Preparing the next generation of AI leaders
Sinha said artificial intelligence would be among the defining technologies of the generation and that universities had a crucial role in preparing the people who would 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 $20 million contribution will establish six permanent endowments supporting college leadership, student scholarships, endowed professorships, entrepreneurship and incubation, advanced research and emerging technologies.
The college will have two academic divisions. The Division of Applied Intelligence and Informatics will focus on developing and deploying intelligent systems, while the Division of Information and Learning Applications will examine how information and intelligent systems function within human and institutional environments.
The college will also house the Applied Artificial Intelligence and Data Science Institute, which will connect AI and analytics research and education across UNT. It is expected to facilitate interdisciplinary research, shared infrastructure, external research funding and partnerships with industry.
From Andhra Pradesh to the American technology sector
The Sinhas’ journey to the US began after their education in India. Vikas studied at Sri Venkateswara University and completed civil engineering at G Pulla Reddy Engineering College in Kurnool, Andhra Pradesh. The couple later moved to the United States for higher education and earned graduate degrees from Florida Atlantic University.
Vikas subsequently continued his studies at Northwestern University before earning his PhD from the University of North Texas 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.
UNT President Harrison Keller said AI was rapidly transforming the way people work, conduct research and solve problems, making it important for universities to help shape the technology’s future.
“The Anuradha and Vikas Sinha College of Artificial Intelligence and Advanced Analytics positions UNT to lead in that work,” Keller said.
He added that the couple’s contribution would create new opportunities for students and faculty to develop, study and apply AI technologies while supporting UNT’s broader strategic goals.
The gift is expected to advance the university’s priorities in student success, research and innovation while preparing graduates for a workforce increasingly shaped by artificial intelligence and data.
UNT plans to formally celebrate the naming of the college at a university event later this year.
The University of North Texas is a public research university and the largest university in the Dallas-Fort Worth region. Through its campuses in Denton and Frisco, the university serves nearly 44,000 students across 230 degree programmes and awarded more than 13,000 degrees last year.
