Universities to begin merger talks

By Ann Maxon / Staff reporter





National Yang-Ming University (NYMU) yesterday decided to negotiate a merger contract with National Chiao Tung University (NCTU), which promised to name the merged school National Yang-Ming and Chiao Tung University.

It chose NCTU over National Tsing Hua University (NTHU) primarily because the name National Yang-Ming and Chiao Tung University would allow it to maintain its “subjectivity,” which has “great significance” for the university, NYMU president Steve Kuo (郭旭崧) said in a statement.

NCTU and NTHU are top universities with different strengths and both have developed a great rapport with NYMU through years of collaboration, Kuo said, adding that it was a “very difficult decision.”

The entrance of National Yang-Ming University in Taipei’s Beitou District is shown in an undated photograph. Photo courtesy of National Yang-Ming University

The decision was passed by a university council meeting yesterday, in which most council members voted for NCTU, NYMU said in a statement.

The meeting was attended by 91 of 96 council members and voting was conducted anonymously, it added.

A team is to be formed to negotiate the contract, and if the negotiations are successful, a draft contract would be sent to the council for review, NYMU said.

After that, the two universities would need to outline a merger plan and obtain approval from the Ministry of Education, it said.

If the negotiations are unsuccessful, NYMU said that it would negotiate a contract with another university.

“A school merger is a complex and lengthy process, and whether it will succeed is still unknown,” it said.

NYMU thanked the other two universities for their sincerity, saying that since August it has conducted more than 20 exchanges with each of them.

NYMU shares a vision of helping patients regain their health and the decision was “yet another important step toward realizing that together,” NCTU said in a statement.

It thanked NYMU for deciding to “pursue academic greatness” with it and said that together they could become a home for great talent.

NCTU has been discussing a merger with NYMU since 2001, NCTU secretary Chiu Hsin-tien (裘性天) said, adding that NCTU decided to negotiate a merger with NYMU after holding three university council meeting to discuss the matter.

The merger would be handled in a manner that ensures the two schools have equal standing and maintain their individual strengths, he said.

Additional reporting by Hung Mei-hsiu