Having endured divorce and a business crisis, Chang decided to return to Taiwan in 1996 at the invitation of the president of National Tsing Hua University, to serve as dean of the College of Life Sciences at his alma mater.
走過離婚、公司經營風暴，張子文決定應清大校長之邀返台任職，擔任母校清華大學生命科學院院長（1996 年）。