About Us
The William D. Ruckelshaus Center is a neutral resource for collaborative problem solving.
The Center provides expertise to improve the quality and availability of voluntary collaborative approaches for policy development and multi-party dispute resolution.
The Center is a joint effort of Washington’s two research universities and was developed in response to requests from community leaders. Building on the unique strengths of the two institutions, the Center is dedicated to assisting public, tribal, private, non-profit and other community leaders in their efforts to build consensus and resolve conflicts around difficult public policy issues. The Center also advances the teaching, curriculum, and research missions of the two universities by bringing real-world policy issues to the campuses.
The Center is housed jointly at the Daniel J. Evans School of Public Affairs at the University of Washington and with Washington State University Extension. It is guided by an advisory board of prominent local and state leaders representing a broad range of constituencies and geographic locations. The board is chaired by William Ruckelshaus.