With Great Foresight, President Hsia Laid the Foundation for NCKU to Become a Top Comprehensive University
With Great Foresight, President Hsia Laid the Foundation for NCKU to Become a Top Comprehensive University
/ Han-Min Hsia / Former President of NCKU
Over the past 90 years since its establishment, NCKU has become a distinguished institute of higher education in Taiwan under the leadership of past and present presidents. During his office, President Han-Min Hsia expanded the campus, established a medical college and an affiliated hospital, and led NCKU to become a multi-disciplinary comprehensive university. For this reason, Dr. Hsia is highly regarded for his elevation of the academic standing of NCKU as well as for his improvement of medical standards in sourthern Taiwan.
After the passing of President Hsia in 2021, the government issued a special presidential commendation order and established a data archive of Hsia in the National History Museum in recognition of his selfless dedication and contributions: laying the foundation for the development of NCKU, establishing a medical center in southern Taiwan and an aviation research and development base in the Pacific, formulating the policies on national science and technology, and promoting the infrastructure construction of information and communications.
Serving His Alma Mater with Perseverance and Diligence, While Making Three Entries into NCKU
Dr. Han-Min Hsia was born in 1932 to a poor family in Fujian Province of China. In his early childhood, he was fostered in an orphanage for four years after his father passed away. He decided to study hard to find a pathway out of poverty and was admitted to Fujian Industrial School on a tuition-free status. In 1949, he and his mother arrived in Taiwan. Shortly thereafter he was enrolled in the Dept. of Marine Engineering, Naval Academy. After graduating from college, he earned a master’s degree in mechanical engineering at NCKU. Upon graduation, he received a full scholarship at Oklahoma State University-Stillwater based on his excellent grades in college and equally excellent Navy service records. He proceeded to earn a doctorate in mechanical engineering with a specialty in radiation heat transfer.
Dr. Hsia made three entries to NCKU, first as an undergraduate student, then a professor and a department chair, and finally as the president of NCKU. Prior to the last position, he served as the president of Kaohsiung Junior College of Technology and was appointed as director of the Dept. of Technological and Vocational Education, MOE owing to his effective management of the said junior college. He once described himself as a “workaholic civil servant,” as he dedicated himself to promotion of technological literacy in education. In 1979, he was appointed as administrative deputy minister of MOE. In 1980, Dr. Hsia was appointed as the seventh president of NCKU; he was the first alumnus to serve as president of the university. At that time, Dr. Hsia stated that he felt obligated to establish a medical center at NCKU, not only because it was the goal of all former university presidents, but because it would facilitate the development of NCKU. His remarks expressed his sense of responsibility and mission, as well as his deep affection for his alma mater.
Striving for Campus Expansion, the Establishment of a Medical Center, the Development of NCKU as a Top Comprehensive University
Upon taking office, President Hsia worked actively to implement reforms, and engage in negotiations for land acquisition. In his effort to expand campus, he requisitioned land occupied for a nearby illegal construction project, and built nearly 20 school buildings successively.
Another former president, Zheng-Yi Weng, remarked that President Hsia worked tirelessly to negotiate with related parties, allowing NCKU to expand its campus successfully. He was the president with the greatest contribution in this regard. Thanks to his efforts, NCKU expanded its school territory comprising twelve campuses centralized in eastern Tainan, with each of its colleges being located in the same campus, becoming the envy of other universities in Taiwan.
Shortly after his inauguration as NCKU president, Dr. Hsia assumed responsibility for the mission to establish a medical center based on an NCKU-designed, constructed and operated college of medicine. With a medical college to be established, the engineering-oriented NCKU foresaw its transformation into a top-tier comprehensive university in Taiwan and one of the top 100 universities in the world.
After eight years of construction, the NCKU hospital was completed for operation to provide medical services to residents of southern Taiwan. Significantly, the establishment of the hospital was more than an accomplishment for the university. It was intended as a part of the Fourteen Major Construction Projects to lay the cornerstone for national development.
Upon inauguration of the NCKU Hospital, President Hsia exhorted medical students to be good doctors, saying: “A physician should perform like a prime minister serving the government broadmindedly and thoughtfully, always taking into consideration the wellbeing of his patients.” His remarks also reflected how he administered the university.
Former president Jer-Ru Maa once noted that “NCKU is comparable to a pyramid arduously built by numerous teachers and students with each putting forth a little effort. And President Han-Min Hsia was the one who stacked many large boulders to make the miracle a reality.”
Once an NCKU Alumnus, Always an NCKU Alumnus; Making Great Contributions to Social and National Development
In 1988, President Hsia completed his term of office at NCKU and was appointed Chairman of the National Science Council (NSC) and then a national policy advisor. As former NSC chairman Che-Ho Wei recalled, Chairman Hsia endeavored to promote the development of science and technology in Taiwan with the implementation of many major policies, including aeronautic technology projects, national laboratory, overseas science division, and industry-academia cooperation projects.
Dr. Hsia lived a simple and frugal life, but showed compassion toward orphans and the poor by regularly donating to charities. After retirement, he founded the National Information Infrastructure Enterprise Promotion Association with the aim of using information technology to assist in facilitating industrial development, including executing more than 30 projects commissioned or subsidized by government agencies. These projects were mostly involved in prospective areas: integration of consumer electronics, e-commerce, flood hazard mitigation, distance learning, and so forth. Then he founded God Care About Earth (GCAE) partly by his savings and partly by fundraising. He and his wife were both devoted to spreading Christianity between Taiwan and the United States and promoting charitable work.
As he grew older, Dr, Hsia returned to Taiwan. He then sold his home in Taipei, and moved with his wife to Tainan Veterans Home in 2012. As he said laughingly, “If I was not feeling well, I would go to the hospital nearby.” It goes without saying that he was referring to the NCKU hospital with an unforgettable memory. Once an NCKUer (NCKU alumnus), always an NCKUer (NCKU alumnus).
In his final years, Dr. Hsia and his wife moved to their daughter’s home in Tainan after he was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. Occasionally former colleagues, friends, and students would visit the elderly couple, as they were both happy to live a quiet life. Dr. Hsia passed away in June 2021.
(Photo courtesy of: NCKU News Center)
NCKUer ｜
Class ｜
Honors and Achievements ｜
Han-Min Hsia
Master Program of Mechanical Engineering, Class of 1962
・Served as the NCKU president from 1980 to 1988; established the College of Medicine and an affiliated hospital at NCKU during his term of office.
・Awarded an Honorary Doctor of Engineering by Chonnam National University in 1983.
・Served as Minister of the National Science Council (NSC) between 1988 and 1993, leaving an impact on Taiwan’s technological development in the last decades.
・Served as Minister Without Portfolio while acting as a convener at the Technology Advisory Group, the Office of Committee for Information Industry Development, and the Nangang Business Park Promotion Group (under the Executive Yuan) from 1993 to 1996.
・Granted the title of Professor Emeritus by the Hoover Institution at Stanford University in 1996.
・Served as a national policy advisor between 1996 and 2000.
・Served as Chairman of the National Information Infrastructure Enterprise Promotion Association between 2000 and 2005, using information technology to assist in facilitating industrial development in Taiwan.
・Founded GCAE in 2003 to promote global gospel activities and encourage orphans and the poor to receive education.
Han-Min Hsia / Master Program of Mechanical Engineering, Class of 1962
・Served as the NCKU president from 1980 to 1988; established the College of Medicine and an affiliated hospital at NCKU during his term of office.
・Awarded an Honorary Doctor of Engineering by Chonnam National University in 1983.
・Served as Minister of the National Science Council (NSC) between 1988 and 1993, leaving an impact on Taiwan’s technological development in the last decades.
・Served as Minister Without Portfolio while acting as a convener at the Technology Advisory Group, the Office of Committee for Information Industry Development, and the Nangang Business Park Promotion Group (under the Executive Yuan) from 1993 to 1996.
・Granted the title of Professor Emeritus by the Hoover Institution at Stanford University in 1996.
・Served as a national policy advisor between 1996 and 2000.
・Served as Chairman of the National Information Infrastructure Enterprise Promotion Association between 2000 and 2005, using information technology to assist in facilitating industrial development in Taiwan.
・Founded GCAE in 2003 to promote global gospel activities and encourage orphans and the poor to receive education.
Class of 1959, Department of Mechanical Engineering (admitted in 1955 and enrolled in the first year)
Samuel Chao Chung Ting
Nobel Laureate in Physics
Department of Physics, Class of 1962
Paul Chu
President of Taiwan Comprehensive University System
