“Gould” is the Martin Daniel Gould Center for Conflict Resolution Programs, the heart of dispute resolution programs at Stanford University. An historic landmark at Stanford, the Gould Center was remodeled in 1998 thanks to a generous donation from Joseph B. Gould. It now houses classrooms and meeting rooms, offices and an expansive garden that provide an ideal forum for integrating theory and practice in conflict resolution.

Maude Pervere and Jan Martinez teach a simulation based on climate change negotiations.

In addition to providing classroom and meeting space for most of the dispute-resolution related programs at Stanford, the Gould Center is home to two dispute resolution programs at Stanford Law School: the Negotiation and Mediation Teaching Program, and the Stanford Center for Conflict and Negotiation (SCCN), both of which are underwritten by the Joseph B. Gould Foundation.

The Negotiation and Mediation Teaching Program

This program was started in 1996 to improve, increase and coordinate the dispute resolution offerings in the Law School curriculum. The Program now offers small, highly interactive seminars in Negotiation, Mediation, Advanced Negotiation and Dispute Resolution Systems Design to more than 200 Stanford Law School students annually. Most of the Programs’ courses are taught at Gould.

The Stanford Center for Conflict and Negotiation

SCCN, lodged at the law school, is an interdisciplinary center for the study of conflict and conflict resolution. SCCN brings together students and faculty from all parts of the university who share an interest in conflict resolution theory and practice in domestic and international domains.

SCCN sponsors an inter-disciplinary seminar on conflict and negotiation, which is open to law students and graduate students in management, engineering and arts and sciences. SCCN also sponsors occasional conferences and workshops devoted to conflict resolution. Each year SCCN selects 10-12 fellows (through a competitive process) who meet with SCCN faculty over the course of the year to discuss issues in conflict resolution and to pursue research projects on conflict and conflict resolution. SCCN fellows have gone on to teach at universities around the world and have also been active in important peacemaking and peacekeeping activities. SCCN also administers the Goldsmith Award, for a student paper on conflict or conflict resolution.

Collaboration Between the Programs

The Negotiation and Mediation Program and Stanford’s Center on Conflict and Negotiation share office, library, conference and classroom space at Gould. Faculty share ideas and projects, and students often participate in both programs.