We interviewed our energetic ‘Problem of God’ Professor Ruf

Frederick Ruf, or as we know him ‘Professor Ruf’, who teaches theology at Georgetown, captured my attention as early as the first lesson of my freshman year.

I knew there was more to him than just being a regular Problem of God professor. Born in New York, Professor Ruf attended Williams College, and then received his Master’s at the University of Chicago and his PhD at Harvard, in Religious Studies.

The Tab sat down with Prof Ruf to discuss his first job, his experiences as a student, and what it was like to teach at an all-girls boarding school.

Describe yourself in three words. 

I like to think of myself as funny, caring and still uncertain about what I want.

Talk to me about your first experience teaching, at boarding school. 

It was a girls’ boarding school outside Baltimore – pretty terrifying. You don’t understand everything that you’re teaching, and yet you still have to pretend to understand everything that you’re teaching. All of a sudden you have this new role, where you’re expected to know everything. To be the expert in the classroom – it is a very odd role to play.

When people started calling me Mr. Ruf, I was like 28 and I had never been called Mister by anybody and so it was odd.

What is the worst thing you encountered in class?

[At a] Connecticut boys’ school, private school, there were some very funny ninth grade students. There was a kid named Jimmy Pig – he was hilarious and he once asked me a question and I had no idea what he was talking about. For 60 seconds I was absolutely silent and trying to think of something to say. Right now it’s easy to handle questions, its different – but at that point the rug was pulled out of my being, embarrassing and I actually think it was good for me.

Professor Ruf’s passport from his 20s

What was your best university experience? 

Williams was the best experience, off in the mountains in Massachusetts, three hours from Boston and New York, covered with snow in the wintertime. I even wanted to drop out for a while cause I wanted to go with my friends and take a year off, but I didn’t pass the draft physical so I stayed there – but [there] I realized the best friends in my life came from that point.

I mean professors at Harvard completely determined what I think about stuff, but for interpersonal [relationships] Williams was a lot more.

Is Harvard as harsh as they say? 

People at Harvard are not overly intelligent, they’re just like people in Georgetown. The image of it all is that you’re gods if you go to Harvard, but that’s not it at all.

What personalities do you get along with? What personalities do you not get along with?

I like people who are real people. My wife is a doctor – she deals with dying people and she has this amazing act of connecting.

I met her when my mother was dying and I saw her kneeling down by the side of the bed to talk to my mother. Most doctors have a white coat, but they are never on your level, and she was on mine and that kind of person means a lot. They’re real people, its not bullshit and that what my friends are like.

Do you think you’ve changed because of these experiences? 

Not a lot, I once heard an NPR story about this guy who was like 95-years-old and they asked him, “how do you think about yourself? What do you imagine yourself?” And he responded, “You know, when I look in the mirror I see myself as when I was 19-years-old.”

And that’s just like the way I feel. I’m the same person, I haven’t changed.