$1 MM Gift to UT-Austin Advances Study of Jainism, South Asian Religions

HOUSTON: The Academic Liaison Committee (ALC) of Federation of Jain Associations in North America (JAINA) has established a new partnership with the University of Texas at Austin (UT-Austin) to establish The Tirthankar Sumatinath Distinguished Professorship in Jain Studies.

This newest of 24 endowed professorships established by the ALC will reside in the UT-Austin’s Department of Asian Studies in the College of Liberal Arts at UT-Austin’s sprawling campus in the capital city of Texas, where the Jain Society of Greater Austin was founded in 1995 by 70 families – today, Austin has a thriving membership of over 250 families, and the UT-Austin is a flagship university of Texas, offering a broad curriculum that draws students from across the state and around the world. Presently, UT-Austin has nearly 55,000 students, mostly from Texas and hailing from Judeo-Christian backgrounds with a significant diversity of Asian students and faculty.

The ALC held a celebratory event on Saturday, July 19 at Jain Vishwa Bharati (JVB) Center in Houston, attended by six UT-Austin faculty members and nearly 100 members of the Jain community, comprised of donors, diplomats, civic officials, Jain nuns and interfaith dignitaries from Houston, Dallas and Austin as well as other parts of the United States. The elegant inauguration event began with a soulful recitation of the Navkar Mahamantra (the core prayer of Jainism) by four Samanijis (nuns) of JVB Houston and JVB Miami centers. JVB Chairman Dr. Swatantra Jain recognized all major donors whose generous gifts totaling $1 million enabled this permanent professorship at UT-Austin which completes the milestone sacred lineage of twenty-four Tirthankaras (or divine spiritual reformers and teachers of Jainism who have guided humanity towards the path to purification and salvation).

Realizing a vision that has been several years in the making, ALC Founder and Past Chairman, Dr. Sulekh C. Jain, (who also co-founded JVB Houston with Swatantra Jain) thanked Professor Donald R. Davis for visiting the Jain Society of Houston (an organization with over 1000 Jain families) nearly ten years ago as part of the early relationship building and for his interest in teaching Jainism, a religion which inspired Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Nelson Mandela and many other changemakers to follow the path of non-violence.

Dr. Jain stated there is a growing interest at campuses around the world in teaching Jainism and its timeless values such as Ahimsa (non-violence), Anekantavada (tolerance for multiple perspectives) and Aparigraha (non-possessiveness and sustainable living) either on a stand-alone basis or in comparative religions classes and degree programs. He recalled that the first endowed professorship in Jain Studies was established at Florida International University in Miami in 2010, and presently, fifty-five (55) universities in thirteen (13) countries around the world offer undergraduate and graduate courses in Jain studies. In 2025 alone, the ALC has established fully funded endowed programs in Jain Studies at Claremont School of Theology, Arihanta Institute (a three-year old online Jain university), University of Arizona at Tucson, and also funded two new PhD research programs and a post-doctoral fellowship at University of Oxford (UK), while negotiations are progressing at a leading institution in Washington DC and two large universities in Japan.

The ALC’s partnership with the Pune (India)-based International School for Jain Studies (ISJS) has trained about 1,200 students and scholars from over 40 universities and 26 countries in Jain studies by hosting visits to India or in online programs. This partnership feeds the pipeline of graduate students, post-doctoral fellows and competent faculty equipped with advanced knowledge in Jainism so that they could address pivotal issues pertinent to humanity and the global Jain community which has five million followers in India and about 300,000 in over 35 nations worldwide. The ALC’s larger vision is to preserve and propagate core Jain teachings while making the world a better place for humanity and the planet.

The new faculty position at UT-Austin will report to Professor Donald R. Davis, Chair of the Religious Studies Department. The department will offer in perpetuity year-round courses and research opportunities incorporating Jain philosophy and principles to train students and scholars in areas of personal and organizational transformation such as non-violence, tolerance, ethics, languages, yoga and wellness, environmentalism, peace studies and sustainable development.

In their remarks, UT-Austin College of Arts Dean David Sosa, Professor Akbar Hyder (from UT-Austin’s South-Asia Institute) and Professor Davis emphasized the philanthropic gifts will greatly aid the Distinguished Professorship to utilize multiple learning modes such as academic studies, field visits and seminars in critical inquiry and analysis of Jain principles, thereby meeting the UT-Austin’s mission to spawn leaders who can integrate learnings into real-world scenarios and positively impact their respective organizations and communities. The faculty members collectively thanked all donors for their gifts which will enable knowledge dissemination beyond college students, via the university’s extended outreach to a dozen high schools, junior colleges and the interfaith community.

DC Manjunath, Honorable Consul General of India in Houston, congratulated the gathering on this academic initiative at UT-Austin, praising the contributions of ancient Jain sages he was influenced by when growing up in his home states of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. He also cited the recent global celebration of Navkar Mahamantra Divas on April 9, 2025 (for recitation of Jain prayers to foster world peace) with an inspiring call to action by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to follow the teachings of Jainism for sustainable living.

Ms. Tiffany D. Thomas, Houston City Councilwoman for District F, lauded the UT-Austin and Jain community for working together in promoting non-violence, compassion and truth, and presented Swatantra Jain with a certificate of recognition to JVB Houston for upholding these values.

As the lead benefactor for the ALC and major donor for the UT-Austin Distinguished Professorship in Jain Studies, philanthropist Dr. Jasvant Modi (President of Vardhaman Charitable Foundation) emphasized that the Jain community has evolved from undertaking temple-building projects as early settlers in the diaspora, to building new knowledge centers for sustaining and propagating Jain teachings to transform humanity. He stated “This ALC collaboration with UT-Austin fulfills our call for action to invest in peace, nurture compassionate global citizens, and shape resilient communities for generations to come.”

Dr. Manish Mehta, Vice-Chair of the ALC, stated that by studying the ancient Jain philosophy which dates to nearly 5,000 years, modern day students can gain a profound science-based awareness of ethical living and apply it to navigate the balance between development and environmental stewardship while learning to appreciate the interconnectedness of life, as Jainism engenders respect for all living beings.

Mr. Gaurav Jhaveri, President of JVB Houston concluded the celebration with a vote of thanks to all attendees.

Highlights of the JVB Houston’s celebration and excerpts of other presentations may be viewed in this four-minute video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UYbZGVbgel0