University of Alabama
Join us every Wednesday of the Spring 2025 semester at 7:30 PM in Ten Hoor Hall 125
Contact
As a ministry of Jesus Christ, RUF exists in step with the local church to see the flourishing of life at The University of Alabama through a genuine relationship with Jesus Christ, the breaking down of barriers among campus groups, and grace based community that seeks God together in order to serve the campus and Tuscaloosa for the Glory of God. If you are a student or would like to connect us to a student, reach out to us by email. Roll Tide!!
Connect
Students involved in RUF are connected to a few main churches, feel free to check them out. They are:
Listen to our podcast!
Interested in what we listen to? Check out the RUF Bama Set List and Indelible Grace
Dating Article by former RUF Midsouth Coordinator, Les Newsom
Meet Our Team
Stewart Swain
Stewart was born in Ohio but grew up in Glen Ellyn, IL, a small suburb 30 minutes west of Chicago. After graduating from Glenbard West High School Stewart moved to Texas and attended SMU. He was never looking for Jesus or a Campus Ministry until RUF found him at the end of a confusing, fun, and difficult freshman year. Through a long process of ups and downs after his sophomore year Stewart received the good news of the gospel. The life changing message of being able to know God through Jesus began to renovate his whole life and even made him consider entering into vocational ministry. Upon graduation from SMU in 2010 with a BBA in Marketing and a minor in Spanish he moved to Winston-Salem, NC to work for RUF at Wake Forest University. These years at Wake made him consider a more permanent calling so in June of 2012 he moved back to Dallas, TX to begin a Masters in Divinity at Redeemer Seminary and to continue working for RUF at SMU. During his last year in seminary Stewart worked as an accountant for a contract furniture design company. Stewart graduated from Redeemer in May of 2015 and has been the Campus Minister at The University of Alabama since June 2015. Stewart loves the energy of Alabama, the diversity of people on campus, and anything sports and people related.
Stewart’s wife - Mary Cannon - is from Nashville. She became a Christian in college and was involved in RUF as a student at Ole Miss. She holds her bachelors and masters degrees in Accounting and currently works for PriceWaterhouse Coopers. She is very excited to minister to college girls.
Mary Cannon and Stewart are so excited to welcome Baby Watson to God's good world. Watson was born in the summer of 2023.
Hunter Brooks
Hunter graduated from Western Kentucky University where he studies theater, vocal music, and anthropology. He loves the outdoors, reading, watching movies, and getting coffee with friends. Hunter is excited to dive deeper into his faith while ministering to students in Tuscaloosa. Roll Tide!
Molly Kerr
Molly Kerr, from Charleston, South Carolina, graduated from the University of Georgia (Go Dawgs!) in 2024, receiving a BA Theatre and a BA Entertainment and Media Studies. She enjoys singing, dancing, going on walks with people, reading, and spending time with her friends and family. She participated as a student in RUF at UGA during her four years in college, serving on the leadership team for her junior and senior years. Through RUF, she found herself experiencing the most loving, familial community of people in her stage of life that she had ever seen, as they pointed one another to the calling and hope of Jesus. As an RUF intern, she desires to get to know college students at the University of Alabama and to help them feel seen and valuable, to point them to a thriving relationship with Jesus, to facilitate them making lasting connections with friends in Christian community, and to assure them that someone is in their corner who wants to truly know them and walk through life with them (not just with her, but with their fellow students, and most importantly, Jesus!).
Daniel Tortorici
Daniel was born and raised in Birmingham, AL. After graduating from Mountain Brook High School in 2012, Daniel attended the University of Alabama where he met his wife Molly. Daniel graduated from Alabama in 2016 and went on to serve as an RUF intern at the University of South Carolina for 3 years. Daniel spent 4 years in Jackson, MS in seminary at RTS Jackson. While in Jackson, Daniel worked part-time for the RUF Intern department and served as the intern with the young adult ministry at First Presbyterian Jackson.
Daniel is excited to return to his alma mater -- what he calls “the promised land.” Daniel loves all things Alabama, Sacramento Kings, and anything to do with his wife or dog Weller.