The Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, California, has announced a $4.4 million gift from Mira and Ajay Shingal to establish and endow the first Dharma studies center in the United States.

The Mira and Ajay Shingal DCF Center for Dharma Studies will focus on multidisciplinary graduate research and teaching in Hindu and Dharma studies. GTU currently offers a graduate certificate in Hindu Studies, M.A. and Ph.D. concentrations in Hindu studies, and courses in Jain studies. The new center will support those programs and, in the future, will include other religions or systems of thought and practice that self-identify as Dharma traditions. The center also will host international conferences, produce resources for the general public, and foster research on the resources of religion in engagement with major global challenges faced by humanity. Dr. Rita Sherma has been named the center's first director and associate professor of Dharma studies at GTU.

Ajay and Mira Shingal  have studied the sacred texts of Hinduism all their lives and chose GTU for their historic gift because “it incorporates both deep scholarship and interest in the practice of religion. We understand the need for accredited scholars that can speak about Hinduism with authority in this country.”