HUD secretary to address Ohio State summer graduates

U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Secretary Marcia L. Fudge will deliver the summer commencement address at The Ohio State University. Fudge is a former congresswoman who earned her bachelor’s degree in business from Ohio State.

Approximately 1,600 degrees and certificates will be awarded at the Aug. 6 ceremony at the Schottenstein Center. The ceremony begins at 2 p.m. and will last approximately 2 1/2 to 3 hours. Tickets are not required for guests.

Fudge is the 18th secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. She was appointed by President Biden and confirmed in 2021.

Before her time as secretary, Fudge represented the 11th Congressional District in Ohio from 2008 to March 9, 2021. She was a member of several Congressional Caucuses and past chair of the Congressional Black Caucus. Fudge earned a reputation in Congress for tackling the challenges of her district by working with the Ohio delegation and across political ideologies.

In 1999, Fudge was elected the first female and first African American mayor of Warrensville Heights, Ohio, a position she held for two terms. In that role, she adopted one of the first vacant and abandoned property ordinances in the state. 

Fudge’s career in public service began in the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor’s Office. She earned her law degree from the Cleveland State University Cleveland-Marshall School of Law.