Indian-origin couple’s $20m gift creates AI college at US university

Washington: An Indian-origin couple has donated $20 million to the University of North Texas, which will name a new artificial intelligence and advanced analytics college after them.

The Anuradha and Vikas Sinha College of Artificial Intelligence and Advanced Analytics will be an academic hub focused on the development, application and responsible use of artificial intelligence, intelligent systems and data analytics, the university said Tuesday (local time).

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

The college will combine programmes in artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, data science, advanced analytics, health informatics, information science, library science and learning technologies.

It will also connect faculty and students across disciplines through shared infrastructure, collaborative research and industry partnerships.

“Anu and I see this as an investment in what students will be able to imagine and accomplish in the years ahead,” Vikas Sinha said.

He said the college would 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.”

The college plans two academic divisions. The Division of Applied Intelligence and Informatics will focus on building and deploying intelligent systems. The Division of Information and Learning Applications will study how information and intelligent systems work in human and institutional settings.

A new Applied Artificial Intelligence and Data Science Institute will connect AI and analytics research and education across UNT. It is intended to expand interdisciplinary research, shared infrastructure, external funding and industry partnerships.

“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 Sinhas came to the United States from India after both earned bachelor’s degrees in civil engineering from Sri Venkateswara University. Both later earned graduate degrees from Florida Atlantic University.

Vikas Sinha went on to Northwestern University before receiving a PhD in information science from UNT in 2023.

He is vice president of the Mainframe Software Division at Broadcom and has served on the UNT College of Information Leadership Board since 2023.

“Education has opened doors for us throughout our lives, and we want to hold those doors open for others,” Vikas Sinha said.

He linked the donation to his experience as an international student. “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.”

The donation extends the Sinhas’ earlier support for UNT. In 2024, they helped establish the Anuradha and Vikas Sinha Department of Data Science and related endowments. A year later, they made another major gift to create the Sinha Innovation Lab for Data Science.

UNT is a public research university based in Denton, north of Dallas. Founded in 1890, it is part of the University of North Texas System.

IANS