University of North Texas receives $20M for new AI college

Anuradha and Vikas Sinha, an Indian-origin couple, have donated $20 million to the University of North Texas (UNT) to establish the Anuradha and Vikas Sinha College of Artificial Intelligence and Advanced Analytics. The gift will create six permanent endowments to support college leadership, student scholarships, endowed professorships, entrepreneurship, incubation, and advanced research.

The new college will serve as an academic hub focused on the development, application, and responsible use of artificial intelligence, intelligent systems, and data analytics. It will integrate various programs, including cybersecurity, data science, health informatics, and information science, while connecting faculty and students through shared infrastructure and industry partnerships.

The college will consist of two academic divisions: the Division of Applied Intelligence and Informatics, which focuses on deploying intelligent systems, and the Division of Information and Learning Applications, which studies how these systems function in human and institutional settings. Additionally, a new Applied Artificial Intelligence and Data Science Institute will be created to expand interdisciplinary research and external funding across the university.