Since 1949, a number of new universities have been established in Taiwan; all of them, however, are located in the northern part of the island. To have a geographically balanced development of higher education and to answer the appeal of communities in the Kaohsiung-Pingtung area, the Ministry of Education decided to reestablish National Sun Yat-sen University in Kaohsiung.
後經在台校友為復校奔走呼籲，加上目前大學多集中在北部，高屏地方人士也籲請政府在南部設置大學，教育部乃決定中山大學在高雄西子灣復校。民國六十八年七月成立籌備處，由前救國團主任李煥主持。