The fall 2025 LSU College of Art & Design commencement ceremony will take place at 3 p.m. in the LSU Student Union Theater.

Watch ceremony recording.

About the Commencement Speaker

Traci Birch is an Associate Professor of urbanism in the LSU School of Architecture, and Associate Director of the LSU Coastal Ecosystem Design Studio, a multi-disciplinary research institute focused on the long-term stability of communities and landscapes in dynamic coastal environments. Her research focuses on developing frameworks for community adaptation, preservation and well-being in the face of accelerated climate change. She takes an applied approach, working directly with Gulf Coast communities and community members to build capacity for, withstand, and recover from acute and chronic adversity. Dr. Birch’s work seeks to examine “what counts [to people], not just what can be counted,” exploring the nuanced ways of valuing and dealing with change by different groups and individuals. To accomplish this, she engages researchers from across this and other universities, as well as hundreds of graduate and undergraduate students.  Her goal in this is to play a small part in creating the next generation of professionals who love and care for Louisiana as much as she does.

Traci completed her Master’s in Urban and Regional Planning and her Ph.D. in Urban Studies and Environmental Management, both from the University of New Orleans. She also holds a Bachelor of Arts degree with concentrations in graphic design and printmaking from Baldwin-Wallace University in Berea, Ohio. Before joining Coastal Ecosystem Design Studio in 2015, Traci spent 10-years+ in the private sector as a practicing planner in Louisiana and the Gulf South. This work focused primarily on community disaster recovery and community development policy writing. Her teaching experience includes graduate and undergraduate studios and seminars in coastal, sustainability, and environmental planning, as well as urban planning and urban design courses for COAD students. She previously taught at East Carolina University and the University of New Orleans. Traci is also a member of the American Institute of Certified Planners and the American Planning Association.