Indian-origin couple Anuradha and Vikas Sinha have committed $20 million to the University of North Texas to establish the Anuradha and Vikas Sinha College of Artificial Intelligence and Advanced Analytics. Their giving has grown alongside Vikas’s own journey with UNT, from doctoral student and mentor to benefactor, with earlier gifts supporting data science education, research and student opportunities.
For Anuradha and Vikas Sinha, the story of giving back begins with their own experience of education and opportunity. According to the University of North Texas (UNT), the couple came to the United States from India after earning bachelor’s degrees in civil engineering from Sri Venkateswara University. Both went on to pursue graduate education at Florida Atlantic University, while Vikas later earned a master’s degree in predictive analytics from Northwestern University before completing his Ph.D. in information science with a concentration in data science at UNT in 2023.
We both came to this country as international students. We were on our own, and at that time, we could not have ever imagined that we would have a college with our name on it. We are blessed. We are happy. We are pleased to be at that point in time that we’re able to do that. I want students who are coming in to know that anything is possible. Anything.
Vikas Sinha
Anuradha and Vikas Sinha with UNT President Harrison Keller and Vice President of Advancement Brandon Buzbee | Photo Credit: UNT
Vikas’s professional journey took him from engineering into software and data. After moving to the US, his research gradually shifted towards programming and simulation. His experience eventually led him to IBM, where he worked on software before moving into management and research leadership. By the time IBM acquired SPSS in 2009, he had risen to head of global R&D and later led its predictive analytics portfolio.
In 2013, he took on another challenge when he joined CA Technologies’ mainframe division, leaving his role in predictive analytics at IBM. After Broadcom acquired CA Technologies in 2018, Sinha became part of the effort to rebuild and expand the mainframe business. He went on to lead engineering and customer-facing functions and now serves as vice president of the Mainframe Software Division at Broadcom.
His career has remained closely connected to education and skills development. At Broadcom, Sinha has also been involved in initiatives to develop mainframe talent, including educational and training programmes designed for people at different stages of their careers.
Finding a second academic chapter at UNT
Even after building a long technology career, Sinha wanted to return to academia and pursue a Ph.D.
UNT’s account of his journey says he first learned about the university after seeing a billboard while driving on a highway. He approached the College of Information but initially encountered the residency requirements that had prevented him from pursuing a doctoral degree at other universities.
UNT later developed a doctoral programme designed for working professionals. That created the flexibility Sinha had been looking for, allowing him to continue his career while pursuing advanced research. He completed his Ph.D. in 2023.
His relationship with the university did not end with graduation. He joined the UNT College of Information Leadership Board in 2023 and became involved as a research adviser, benefactor and mentor to doctoral students and young technologists.
For the Sinhas, education had become more than a personal achievement. Their philanthropic involvement began to focus on creating similar opportunities for others.
Turning personal opportunity into philanthropy
In 2024, Anuradha and Vikas Sinha made their first major gift to UNT, committing more than $3 million to establish the Anuradha and Vikas Sinha Department of Data Science within the College of Information.
According to UNT, the gift also created endowments supporting student scholarships, professorships, research and special initiatives. The aim was to build a stronger foundation for data science education while expanding opportunities for students and faculty.
Both Anuradha and I truly believe that once somebody — especially a first-generation college goer — is educated with a college degree, the trajectory of the rest of the generations of their family change. We saw UNT playing a major role as a part of their core strategy to help uplift that segment of population.
Vikas Sinha
The couple’s giving expanded the following year
In May 2025, UNT announced an additional $2.15 million gift from the Sinha family to establish the Sinha Innovation Lab for Data Science. The facility was created to support research and innovation and to strengthen connections among information, people and technology. UNT said the lab would provide students with advanced skills and knowledge while creating opportunities for faculty research and industry partnerships.
By this point, their association with UNT had evolved from Vikas being a student and alumnus to the couple becoming active partners in the university’s academic and research ambitions.
UNT officials, Anuradha and Vikas Sinha along with his son and his family | Photo Credit: UNT
From data science to artificial intelligence
Their latest commitment takes that journey several steps further. On September 8, 2026, UNT announced a $20 million gift from Anuradha and Vikas Sinha to advance artificial intelligence and advanced analytics. In recognition of the commitment, the university will name its new academic institution the Anuradha and Vikas Sinha College of Artificial Intelligence and Advanced Analytics.
The new college is intended to bring together programmes and expertise spanning artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, data science, advanced data analytics, health informatics, information science, library science and learning technologies. It will also serve as a university-wide hub for AI and analytics research and education, connecting students and faculty across disciplines and creating opportunities for shared infrastructure, research and industry partnerships.
The $20 million commitment will create six permanent endowments supporting college leadership, student scholarships, endowed professorships, entrepreneurship and incubation, advanced research and emerging technologies. UNT says the investment will help strengthen student success, research and innovation while preparing graduates for a workforce increasingly shaped by AI and data.
The college will be organised around two academic divisions. The Division of Applied Intelligence and Informatics will focus on areas including AI, cybersecurity, data science, advanced analytics and health informatics, while the Division of Information and Learning Applications will examine information science, library science and learning technologies. An Applied Artificial Intelligence and Data Science Institute will further connect research and education across UNT.
Their giving also reflects a broader belief in education as a route to opportunity. UNT’s account of the family describes their focus on first-generation college students and the potential for education to influence not just an individual but generations of a family.
For the Sinhas, the latest gift therefore marks more than a new college carrying their names. It extends a journey that began with opportunities they received as students and has evolved into an effort to create opportunities for students, researchers and entrepreneurs who will work with the technologies shaping the next phase of the economy.
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