The University of North Texas will open a new college focused on artificial intelligence thanks to a $20 million donation from Anuradha and Vikas Sinha, two university alumni.
The details
The college will be named the Anuradha and Vikas Sinha College of Artificial Intelligence and Advanced Analytics and will serve as an academic and research hub for artificial intelligence, according to a UNT news release.
Some of the areas of study include AI, cybersecurity, data science, health informatics and information science and learning technologies, the release states. The $20 million will go toward college leadership, student scholarships, endowed professorships, entrepreneurship, advanced research and emerging technologies.
“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. “Vikas and Anu’s commitment will create new opportunities for our students and faculty to build, study and apply these technologies … reshaping how we prepare students for a changing labor market, accelerating interdisciplinary research and innovation and creating enduring value for North Texas and the state.”
The college will be composed of two academic departments and an interdisciplinary institute:
The Division of Applied Intelligence and Informatics, which will focus on building and deploying intelligent systems
The Division of Information and Learning Applications, which will focus on how information and intelligent systems operate within human and institutional influences
The Applied Artificial Intelligence and Data Science Institute, which will connect research across the university and foster industry partnerships
The backstory
The Sinhas immigrated to the United States from India and both earned graduate degrees from Florida Atlantic University before Vikas graduated with his Ph.D. from UNT in 2023.
“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. “What excites us about UNT’s vision is that this college 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.”
Looking ahead
UNT plans to celebrate the naming of the college at an event later this year.
