Christopher Toombs
DDes Student
ctoombs1@lsu.edu
MA Louisiana State University
Christopher J. Toombs is a Baton Rouge public-service leader, education and community-relations professional, and Doctor of Design researcher whose work connects cultural preservation, civic design, and equitable community development. He currently serves as Assistant Director of Human Development & Services for the City-Parish of Baton Rouge. His professional background includes more than sixteen years in education and community relations, an appointment as Executive Assistant in the Office of Mayor-President Sid Edwards, leadership as Director of External Relations for Helix Community Schools, and small-business ownership. Toombs earned a Bachelor of Science in Political Science from Southern University and A&M College and a Master of Arts in Liberal Arts from Louisiana State University. His 2022 master’s thesis, Confederately Wrong: The Names of Hermitage Neighborhood It Should Be Changed, examines Confederate-themed place names, historical memory, racial division, and cultural change in Baton Rouge.
His Doctor of Design research, Assessing the Cultural Agency Between LSU and Old South Baton Rouge, investigates the historical and contemporary relationship between Louisiana State University and the adjacent historically Black community of Old South Baton Rouge. The project examines cultural resources, institutional access, community memory, education, economic development, and opportunities for stronger collaboration. Drawing on cultural preservation, critical archival studies, community cultural wealth, and community-engaged research, Toombs proposes a cultural agency treaty intended to preserve local heritage, expand access to resources, strengthen university-community partnerships, and support more equitable development.
Doctor of Design Research Focus
My Doctor of Design research focuses on the cultural agency between Louisiana State University and Old South Baton Rouge. I examine how a major public university and a historically Black neighboring community have shaped one another, which LSU-related cultural, educational, and economic resources remain inaccessible to community residents, and how a formal cultural agency treaty could build solidarity and address resource gaps.
The research combines historical and document analysis, lived experience, community memory, critical archival studies, community cultural wealth, and participatory action research. Its goal is to produce a practical framework for preserving Black cultural heritage, increasing the visibility of Old South Baton Rouge’s contributions, strengthening university-community collaboration, and guiding equitable cultural and economic development.