Led by Las Vegan Sulekh C. Jain, Ph.D., a group of visionary Jain donors from India and the United States, and the Academic Liaison Committee (ALC) of the Federation of Jain Associations in North America (JAINA), partnered with Rice University in Houston, Texas, to establish the Tirthankar Shantinath Endowed Professorship in Jain Studies.

An elegant inauguration ceremony was recently held at the Jain Vishwa Bharati (JVB) Center in Houston. The celebration was attended by more than 100 members of the Jain community, university faculty, philanthropists, and civic leaders.

Las Vegas resident, Dr. Sulekh C. Jain, Past President of JAINA and Founder of ALC, expressed heartfelt gratitude to Dr. Anne Chao, whose $250,000 grant a decade ago laid the foundation for Jain Studies at Rice University. He acknowledged Rice University’s continued recognition of Jainism’s importance and its generous matching commitment.

Dr. Jain highlighted the partnership’s long history, beginning with postdoctoral fellows Dr. Brianne Donaldson (UC Irvine) and Dr. Shivani Bothra (Cal State University, Long Beach), whose work was made possible through the Chao Family Foundation. Jain also honored Dr. Chao’s late father, who earned his Ph.D. in Buddhism from Banaras Hindu University, emphasizing the shared academic and spiritual heritage between India and Asia.

This newly endowed position, the 34th endowed chair or professorship at Rice University, will reside within the School of Humanities, a hub of interdisciplinary study at one of America’s leading research universities. The new Bhagwan Shantinath Professorship will strengthen Rice’s offerings at the intersection of philosophy, ethics, public policy, medicine, artificial intelligence, industry, and environmental studies.

Hosted over the 2025 Diwali weekend, the event began with the Navkar Maha mantra, Jainism’s core prayer, recited by Samanijis Aarjav Pragyaji and Swati Pragyaji of JVB Houston.

The honorable event recognized thirteen families from the United States and India whose collective contributions of $1.5 million, matched by an anonymous donor to Rice University (for a total of $3.00 million), made this permanent endowment possible. The professorship honors Tirthankar Bhagwan Shantinath, the 16th of the 24 revered spiritual teachers (Tirthankaras) in Jainism who illuminate the path of purification and liberation.

Highlights of the JVB Houston’s celebration…