Marcia Rudin was very busy with extracurriculars while at Uni. She was Editor of both the Yearbook and the Gargoyle, her class president in Senior year, the President of the Orchestra, and the Head Cheerleader, in addition to being involved in a number of other clubs and activities. Some of Rudin’s fondest memories of her time at Uni include attending basketball games as a cheerleader, and the “hops” they would have after games, going to dances, and frequenting the Steak ’n Shake that used to be on Green Street. Rudin fondly recalls the teachers of Uni High, particularly the famous Ms. Leppert (who Uni commemorates with the Ella Leppert Award, recognizing outstanding teaching), remembering her as phenomenal, “horrifyingly scary”, and a force to be reckoned with. 

After graduating Uni, Marcia Rudin attended Boston University, majoring in philosophy and religion and graduating magna cum laude. She went on to get an MA degree in religion from Columbia University and the Union Theological Seminary, specializing in philosophy of religion, and gained her Ph.D. in philosphy at the New School for Social Research. For some time, Rudin taught History of Religion first at Brooklyn Friends School, then William Paterson College in New Jersey, along with teaching Philosophy of Education.

After quitting her teaching job, Rudin became involved in an unexpected new field - cult education. While you can now do a simple Google search on cults and have thousands of results pop up, Marcia Rudin and her husband, Rabbi A. James Rudin, were one of the first to write about and attempt to educate others on the dangers and realities of cults, publishing Prison or Paradies? The New Religious Cults, and Why Me? Why Anyone? together with Rabbi Hirshel Gaffe. Marcia Rudin became the founding director of the International Cult Education Program, and gave talks throughout the U.S. She eventually stepped back from the cult scene and turned towards writing, publishing two novels and writing numerous plays. 

Sources:

• Interview with Marcia Rudin
• Marcia Rudin website