Taiwanese Professor Urges University President to Face Reappointment Controversy

A distinguished professor at National Tsing Hua University (NTHU) has publicly called on the university's president, Kao Weng-yuan, to confront a controversy surrounding his recent reappointment and a simultaneous job search in the United States. Professor Chou Cho-hui urged Kao to face the issue directly, stating that avoidance is not a solution.

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Mistakes are human, admitting mistakes is superhuman. President Kao may not be familiar with Taiwan's cultural ecology and has disappointed society, especially the expectations of NTHU's teachers, students, staff, and alumni.

Kao was criticized for seeking employment in Hawaii just three days after his reappointment as NTHU president on May 1. Since the controversy erupted, Kao has remained largely silent, prompting Chou's appeal for transparency and accountability. Chou acknowledged that Kao might be unfamiliar with Taiwanese cultural norms and may have disappointed the expectations of the university's community, including faculty, staff, students, and alumni.

Chou emphasized that the university's operations are not solely dependent on the president, citing the faculty's strong performance in global university rankings as evidence of NTHU's inherent strength. He also pointed out that NTHU's internationalization efforts have been hampered by systemic issues that are difficult to rectify quickly. Therefore, Chou advocates for a shift from relying on individuals to strengthening institutional systems for long-term success.

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If relying on people is not appropriate, it is better to rely on systems, otherwise, frequently changing presidents will make it difficult to win in the long-term competition.

To address potential leadership gaps and improve university governance, Chou proposed that alumni associations, particularly those of national universities without permanent boards, should form standing committees. These committees could focus on enhancing the university's administration, reputation, and rankings from an alumni perspective. Such a systemic approach, he believes, could prevent national universities from facing difficulties in finding suitable leadership.

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Alumni associations, especially for national universities without standing boards of directors or supervisors, can form a standing committee within the alumni association.