Governor’s Corner (GovCo) consists of three different types of housing - residence halls, suites, and independent houses. Each group of houses, as well as the Elliott Program Center, opened for students in the early eighties. 

As a wonderful part of the Governor’s Corner lifestyle during the academic year, the Elliott Program Center, on the edge of Lake Lagunita, is a focal point for many gatherings and programs. With a large wooden-floored multi-purpose room and a mirrored wall, the center is used for music practice, performances and parties. An instructional kitchen facility, administrative office, and meeting/seminar rooms, all provide abundant accommodations for further learning and events at Stanford. 

Sterling Quad          Independent Houses          Suites

Sterling Quadrangle (also known as Sterling Quad) consists of four connected residences - Adams, Potter, Robinson, and Schiff. 

Planning for Governor’s Corner began in 1978 as an answer to a housing need for 800 new students. Sterling Quadrangle was the final structure completed in a phase from 1982-1983 after the opening of the Independent Houses, Suites and Dining societies and the Elliott Program Center.

Sterling Quadrangle is named after former President of Stanford University, Wallace Sterling, and his wife, Anne. Adams was named for Ephraim Douglass Adams, a history professor and the first chairman of the Hoover Library; Schiff is named for physics professor and first chair of the Faculty Senate, Leonard Isaac Schiff. Two more history professors, Davis Morris Potter and Edgar Eugene Robinson, join the group to name Potter House and Robinson House. Potter was also a nationally known as an expert on the Southern secession, and Robinson was the chair of the Committee on the Independent Study Plan, the precursor of departmental honors program. Potter is home to the Explore Energy House. Learn more about the program here.

Ricker Dining and Performance Center is named after Christine Ricker, Manager of University Food Service in the 1940s and 50s. She helped feed the campus through the rationing of World War II.

For information on the accessibility of residences for both living and visiting, please reference our Undergraduate Residences Accessibility Summary chart.

Sterling Quad Houses

There are three residences in this part of Governor’s Corner – EAST House (also known as Treat), Murray House and Yost House. Each house is small and autonomous and home to approximately 40 students.  

Students who live in a small-group house feel a strong sense of self-reliance, and residents share responsibilities for planning house activities, both social and educational. Resident Assistants in each house guide students to see that the house runs smoothly, that problems get solved and that house activities reflect the social and educational interests and needs of residents. 

These three houses were renovated during the summer of 2011.

The independent houses in Governor’s Corner opened for student residents in 1982. Named for Payson Jackson Treat, first Ph.D in history (East Asian studies), Augustus Taber Murray, classicist (Greek), Quaker, athlete and spiritual leader, and Mary Yost, Dean of Women and Associate Professor of English. The independent houses establish awareness and experience in various cultures, languages, and global issues.

For information on the accessibility of residences for both living and visiting, please reference our Undergraduate Residences Accessibility Summary chart.

Governor's Corner Independent Houses

Governor's Corner Suites

General Information         Pictures and Floor Plans        The Suites        Furnishings          Rates Chart

The Suites are composed of four apartment-style houses that are home to 260 upperclass residents. Each house—Anderson, Marx, Griffin, and Jenkins—offers living space in four- six- and eight-bedroom suites with a bathroom and living room. On the first floor of each building, there is a laundry room and kitchenette.

Suites in Governor’s Corner opened for students in the winter of 1982. This was an answer to a housing need for 800 new students. A committee made up of students, staff, and faculty wrote the program for this complex, describing what would go into the new spaces. In phases from 1982-1983, Stanford opened several structures—Independent Houses, Suites and Dining societies, the Elliott Program Center, and Sterling Quadrangle.

Within Suites, four residences are named after former Stanford academic leaders and faculty members: Melville Best Anderson, first head of English department; James Owen Griffin, invited by President Jordan to form the first faculty; Oliver Peebles Jenkins, first professor of Physiology, Zoology, decided the location for the Hopkins Seaside Laboratory; and Charles David Marx, first faculty in Civil Engineering, and also a Stanford University Vice President.

Dining
Residents of the Suites will be required to have a Stanford Dining meal plan. Students will be assigned a specific dining hall.

For information on the accessibility of residences for both living and visiting, please reference our Undergraduate Residences Accessibility Summary chart.

General Information

Governor's Corner Suites

Furnishings