Internationally acclaimed Landscape Architect and Artist Martha Schwartz is The Boston Architectural College’s (BAC) commencement speaker. The ceremony will take place on Friday, May 25, at the Back Bay Events Center in John Hancock Hall at 180 Berkeley Street. 

As principal of Martha Schwartz Partners, Schwartz has more than 35 years of experience as a landscape architect, urbanist, and artist on a wide variety of projects located around the world. Schwartz’s work spans from site-specific art installations to working with cities at strategic planning levels. Her focus is on environmental sustainability and the creation of awareness about how the urban landscape underwrites urban sustainability through functioning as the connective platform for a city’s environmental, social, and economic health.

“We are honored to have Martha Schwartz as our commencement speaker,” said BAC President Glen LeRoy, FAIA, FAICP. “Her work is critical to mitigating the global urbanization crisis occurring around the world. Schwartz’s thoughtful work is helping to reducing climate change and sustain the planet’s diminishing resources.”

Schwartz is the recipient of numerous awards and prizes, including the Honorary Royal Designer for Industry Award from the Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce; the Cooper Hewitt National Design Award; the Women in Design Award for Excellence from the Boston Society of Architects; and many more. 

She is also a tenured professor in practice of landscape architecture at the Harvard University Graduate School of Design. Her work has been featured widely in publications, as well as museums, including the Chicago Institute of Contemporary Art, the Museum of Modern Art in Washington, D.C., and the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.

The College also will confer two honorary degrees to Susan Rodgerson, co-founder and executive/artistic director of Artist for Humanity in Boston, and Renata von Tscharner, founder and president of the Charles River Conservancy.

Founded more than 125 years ago, The Boston Architectural College offers bachelors and master’s degrees in architecture, interior architecture, landscape architecture, and design studies. It also provides certificates in digital design and visualization and in sustainable design. The BAC was the first architectural school to offer online architecture and design degrees.