CSU C|M|LAW alumna and Hall of Fame member Marcia Fudge ’83 made history March 11 as she was sworn in as the first woman to lead the Department of Housing and Urban development in more than 40 years, the second black woman to lead the department and the first Cleveland State University alumni to serve as a cabinet secretary.
Fudge has represented Ohio’s 11th Congressional District for the last 12 years, a district that includes the CSU campus where she earned her law degree at Cleveland-Marshall.
“We are very proud of our distinguished alumna and Hall of Fame member Marcia Fudge, who has served as an unwavering champion for justice and as an exceptional role model for our students,” said Lee Fisher, Dean of Cleveland-Marshall College of Law. “Her national leadership will continue to inspire law students for years to come.”
Fudge also made history at the start of her political career, elected in 1999 as Warrensville Height’s first female and first African American mayor, serving two terms. In 2008, and she won a special election to fill the seat of Congresswoman Stephanie Tubbs Jones, who died while in office.
Noted as a leading voice for working families, the congresswoman has focused on equitable access to quality public education and healthy nutrition, fair labor practices, job creation, and civil and human rights. She is a consistent voice for voter protection and campaign finance reform and remains a steadfast advocate to strengthen and preserve Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid.
Prior to her Cabinet appointment, Secretary Fudge served on the House Committee on Agriculture and the Committee on Education and the Workforce, and was the Ranking Member on the Committee on Agriculture’s Subcommittee on Conservation and Forestry. She is past chair of the Congressional Black Caucus and past national president of Delta Sigma Theta sororit
Secretary Fudge earned her law degree from Cleveland-Marshall College of Law in 1983 and was awarded an honorary doctor laws by the College in 2014. In 2017, She was inducted as an inaugural member of Cleveland-Marshall’s Hall of Fame.