Family and Friends of Dr. Roosevelt Ruffin

Roosevelt Ruffin was born in Saginaw in 1938. In 1957, he toured North Africa, Germany, Italy, and Spain as an entertainer. He earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Michigan State University and completed his Ph.D. in Spanish at the University of Michigan. Dr. Ruffin taught Spanish and American History at Walter French Junior High School in Lansing.

In Saginaw, he served as principal of North Middle School, Assistant Principal of Arthur Eddy Junior High School, and was a Professor at Wayne State University. Dr. Ruffin served as a visiting professor at SVSU in 1988-89, and returned in 1991 as the Director of Multicultural Programs and Affirmative Action. Active in his community, Dr. Ruffin was a Saginaw City Councilman, a member of the Tri-City (now MBS) Airport Commission, and was appointed by then-Governor Blanchard to the Agricultural Labor Commission. He served on the Board of Directors for the Education Employees Credit Union of Saginaw, the advisory boards for the Saginaw YMCA and for St. Mary’s Hospital, and the allocation committee of the United Way. He was a member of Rotary International and the Michigan Council for the Humanities.

Dr. Ruffin enjoyed music and acting, and performed locally with Pit & Balcony Theatre in a production of Driving Miss Daisy in 1991. Dr. Ruffin passed away in 1994, at the age of 56, after a battle with cancer. A health center was dedicated in his honor, the Roosevelt Ruffin Health Center, at the corner of Gallagher and Washington in Saginaw.

The scholarship fund was established by Dr. Ruffin’s family, friends, and colleagues in 1996, and is intended to assist students from Saginaw pursuing degrees at SVSU.