An Indian-origin couple, Anuradha and Vikas Sinha, has donated $20 million to the University of North Texas (UNT) to establish a new artificial intelligence and advanced analytics college named in their honor. The Anuradha and Vikas Sinha College of Artificial Intelligence and Advanced Analytics will function as an academic hub dedicated to developing, applying, and promoting the responsible use of artificial intelligence, intelligent systems, and data analytics. This major financial gift will establish six permanent endowments designed to support college leadership, student scholarships, professorships, entrepreneurship and incubation, advanced research, and emerging technologies.
Academic Structure and Institutes:
The newly formed college will unify programs spanning artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, data science, advanced analytics, health informatics, information science, library science, and learning technologies, while connecting faculty and students across disciplines via collaborative research and shared infrastructure. The curriculum will be structured around two main divisions:
Division of Applied Intelligence and Informatics: Focused on constructing and deploying intelligent systems.
Division of Information and Learning Applications: Dedicated to studying the interaction of information and intelligent systems within human and institutional environments.
Additionally, an Applied Artificial Intelligence and Data Science Institute will be created to expand interdisciplinary research, external funding, and industry partnerships across the university. UNT President Harrison Keller emphasized that the college addresses the university’s responsibility in shaping how AI transforms work, research, and problem-solving.
Background and Philanthropic History of the Sinhas:
Vikas and Anuradha Sinha originally moved to the United States from India after completing their bachelor’s degrees in civil engineering at Sri Venkateswara University, later pursuing graduate studies at Florida Atlantic University. Vikas Sinha furthered his education at Northwestern University before earning a PhD in information science from UNT in 2023. Currently serving as vice president of the Mainframe Software Division at Broadcom and on the UNT College of Information Leadership Board, Vikas Sinha stated that the donation is a way to pay opportunity forward and recognize that immigrants help build the American dream.
This contribution follows a history of support for the university by the couple, including a 2024 endowment to establish the Anuradha and Vikas Sinha Department of Data Science and a subsequent gift creating the Sinha Innovation Lab for Data Science.
