George Mason University’s Costello College of Business will rename its Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship in honor of Anil and Anupama Sharma following a personal gift from the couple to support entrepreneurship and innovation among students and future business leaders.
The center will become the Anil and Anupama Sharma Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, with George Mason planning a formal naming event this fall. The amount of the gift was not disclosed.
Anil Sharma is founder and CEO of McLean, Virginia-based 22nd Century Technologies Inc., or TSCTI, an IT systems integrator and government contractor that provides technology, cybersecurity, cloud and digital transformation services.
The gift deepens Sharma’s existing relationship with George Mason and its entrepreneurship programs while connecting one of Northern Virginia’s established technology executives with efforts to develop the region’s next generation of founders and business leaders.
“I know from personal experience that no one builds a successful life or business alone,” Sharma said. “Along the way, people open doors, place their trust in you, share what they know, and create opportunities that help you grow.”
Sharma came to the United States from India in 1997 with $100 and founded TSCTI later that year. The company has since grown into a $600 million government contracting business with more than 6,000 employees nationwide, including more than 600 cybersecurity subject matter experts.
TSCTI works with federal, state and local government agencies and has operations spanning all 50 states, Canada and Mexico. The company is also a Certified National Minority Business Enterprise.
That growth gives Sharma’s involvement with George Mason particular relevance in Northern Virginia, where the intersection of technology, government contracting and entrepreneurship has created a substantial market for companies developing cybersecurity, cloud, AI and other enterprise capabilities.
Sharma has remained active in that ecosystem as an angel investor and mentor to startups and small businesses. His work with George Mason has included involvement with the Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship and its Patriot Pitch Competition, which provides students and recent alumni with an opportunity to present business concepts and early-stage ventures.
He has also been involved with the university’s government contracting community, an area closely aligned with TSCTI’s development from a Northern Virginia IT consulting business into a national technology contractor.
The Sharmas’ gift comes as universities are placing greater emphasis on entrepreneurship programs that connect academic learning with company formation, mentorship and access to business networks. That role is becoming more significant as artificial intelligence and automation change traditional career paths and lower some barriers to launching technology-enabled businesses.
“Today’s college students are graduating as artificial intelligence, automation, and digital transformation reshape every industry,” Sharma said. “The future will belong to those who can learn faster, adapt continuously, think critically, and stay resilient during change.”
For George Mason, the renamed center provides a platform for building those capabilities within the Costello College of Business. Entrepreneurship centers can serve as a bridge between universities and regional business ecosystems, giving students access to experienced founders, investors and executives alongside more traditional business education.
The relationship also reflects the Sharmas’ longstanding ties to Virginia. TSCTI remains headquartered in McLean even as its operations have expanded nationally, and the company’s focus on STEM, technology and entrepreneurship parallels Sharma’s involvement in Northern Virginia’s business community.
“Anupama and I believe that when you are in a position to do the same for others, you have a responsibility to do so,” Sharma said. “We hope this gift helps more students and aspiring entrepreneurs see what is possible and see a support system to pursue it.”
TSCTI provides digital transformation, cloud enablement, cybersecurity, IT infrastructure and enterprise modernization services to government and private-sector customers. The company describes AI and innovation as central components of its technology strategy.
The naming of the Anil and Anupama Sharma Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship brings together that technology background, Sharma’s startup mentorship and the university’s entrepreneurship initiatives. More broadly, the gift strengthens a connection between George Mason and the Northern Virginia technology and government contracting market as the region works to develop business leaders for an economy increasingly shaped by AI, cybersecurity and digital transformation.
