The Rev. Dan Ruff, S.J., Ph.D., bids farewell to St. Joe’s after 13 years of ministry, leaving behind a legacy of service and commitment to spirituality. Ruff worked in Campus Ministry at St. Joe’s from 1987 to 1990. He later returned in 2015 after spending eight years at Old St. Joseph’s Church in the Old City neighborhood of Philadelphia.
Ruff said he found his purpose within campus ministry while he was in a doctoral program at Duke University.
“All the life I was finding was with campus ministry, my peers,” Ruff said. “It was the first time I dealt with Catholics my age who were serious believers, and that made an impression on me.”
A focus of Ruff’s ministry at St. Joe’s was promoting men’s spirituality, which he designed two short retreats around. At these retreats, students would give talks on different topics. Following the talks, participants would journal, engage in personal prayer and then join together in small groups. At the end of the retreats, individuals would share their thoughts with the larger group.
Throughout his time at St. Joe’s, Ruff collaborated with Tom Sheibley, director of Campus Ministry. What struck Sheibley about Ruff was his willingness to help.
“He was a great pastoral presence, somebody who was always willing to reach out to students in need, to listen to students who needed someone to talk to,” Sheibley said. “He would step into taking on some of the positions in Campus Ministry that just needed to be handled.
Ruff also regularly contributed to University Singers, a diverse group of students, alums and faculty who perform choral music. He left an impact on River Hoffman ’26, a member of University Singers. Hoffman, who described Ruff as a “a dry humor kind of guy,” said Ruff inspired him to join the organization and commit to it.
“He would help me with the music and pronunciations, and he brought everybody in that environment together, just by his presence,” Hoffman said. “You know when he walked in the room.”
Jessica Kokotajlo ’26, head sacristan for Campus Ministry, is another one of Ruff’s mentees. Kokotajlo and Ruff helped out with Wednesday Worship, an hour-long gathering in the Chapel of St. Joseph with eucharistic adoration, acoustic worship music, reconciliation and silent reflection.
“If I didn’t take that leap in my freshman year to go ask [Ruff] about Wednesday Worship and to help out with it, I don’t think I would be where I am right now as the head sacristan,” Kokotajlo said.
Outside of Wednesday Worship, Kokotajlo and Ruff also bonded over their shared love of theater and theatrical performances.
“There was a lot of times where it was a short conversation … talking about recent performances that he went to go see, whether it’s in Philadelphia or he found time to go up to New York City to go find a couple of other shows,” Kokotajlo said.
Some of Hoffman’s favorite memories with Ruff are on the days of University Singers concerts as they prepared to sing in front of the crowd.
“He was always just so ready to go,” Hoffman said. “He would be ready to talk to any student and be like, ‘You ready? Yeah, we got this.’”
Ruff said he’s “thoroughly enjoyed” his time at St. Joe’s and has watched Campus Ministry grow over the years.
“I think we, arguably, are doing a more creative and a more productive Campus Ministry program than we did when I first came here as a young priest … it’s been a great place to be,” Ruff said. “I’m proud of what we do here. I think our students are great … and you guys will all be in my prayers.”
