He's an ancient professor, he's a cowboy, he's an engineer, he's a septic tank commencement speech at the School of Architecture and Urban Planning,
worker ... no, he's Kingsbury Marzolf. Architect, actor, professor, last month.
historian Marzolf is shown here in some of his many disguises, delivering the
The faces of Kingsbury Marzolf
By JAYNE HENDEL
Climbing on a table to reveal his unassuming
figure, the speaker acted schizophrenic as he fran-
tically unzipped his gown, pulled on a Stetson, and
spoke ina Southern drawl.
Within minutes, the cowboy transformed himself
into an ancient professor, and, with creaking
believability, hunched over, clutched his aching
spine, and reminisced with his disciples.
TURNING HIS BACK on the crowd momentarily,
the decrepit scholar grabbed a beret and monocle,
stuffed his shirt pocket with pens and rulers, and
became a thickly accented Swiss engineer.
Finally, red-faced and perspiring, Professor
Kingsbury Marzolf soberly congratulated the
graduating architecture students and climbed off the
table.
PROFILE
Some spectators applauded Marzolf with suprised
expressions, but the students got what they had ex-
pected. Over the last twenty years, Marzolf's non-
traditional approach to teaching has become his
trademark at the School of Architecture and Urban
Planning.
BEHIND ALL THIS craziness, however, is a mild-
mannered, intelligent, and articulate man who has
spent his life integrating architecture, acting, and a
passion for the Scandanavian culture into his
teaching at the University.
Marzolf's acting debut took place in his native
Illinois where he took part in a local production of
"Mrs. Wiggs and the Cabbage Patch."
"My whole life as a kid revolved around play-
acting," said Marzolf, who was influenced by his
costume designer mother and set designer father.
'My mother had to drag me
onto the stage for my first ap-
pearance when I was five. But
she said after that she could
hardly get me off. I've never
wanted to do anything the first
time.'
- Kingsbury Marzolf,
architecture professor
Marzolf said the only stage fright he's ever experien-
ced was exorcized before his debut.
"MY MOTHER had to drag me onto the stage for
my first appearance when I was five. But she said af-
ter that she could hardly get me off. I've never wan-
ted to do anything the first time," he said.
Marzolf said he considered acting as a career, but
his mother warned him how tough an actor's life can
be. "She told me to get an education first and then (I
could) starve to death."
Once in college, Marzolf linked his interest in
theatrics with mathematics and engineering, subjec-
ts that had always interested him, and came up with
architecture.
"IT LOOKED like a practical career with some
romance in it, too," he said.
After two years of junior college, Marzolf tran-
sferred to the University to study architecture. By
1961, he had earned both his bachelor's and master's
degree from the School of Architecture and Design.
Marzolf worked for a private firm for a few years,.
but realized his love for the history and culture of ar-
chitecture wasn't satisfied by drawing up plans in an
office. So he returned to the University to teach.
"WHEN I WORKED AS an architect, I used to get
paid despite the fact that I talked. Now I get paid to
talk. (Teaching) makes better use of my per-
sonality," he said.
Along with teaching architecture at the University,
Marzolf helps out in the understaffed Scandanavian
history department. His interest in Scandanavia
started with a summer tour at age twenty, and has
resulted in a Ph.D topic for both he and his wife,
Communication Professor Marion Marzolf.
The Marzolfs live what Kingsbury calls a mutually
supportive life in "the-house-that-Kingsbury-built"
near Burns Park. Filled with Scandanavian fur-
niture, rugs and ceramics, -the book-lined house ser-
ves as living and work place for the professors.
MARION MARZOLF, the first woman journalism
professor at the University, makes more money
teaching at the University than her husband, but
Marzolf doesn't find this monetary inequality
threatening.
"I've always been very liberated ... I'd be bored
with a wife who was a traditional housewife," Mar-
zolf said.
Marzolf expects to finish his Scandanavian doc-
torate this year after 12 years of work. Entitled, "A
history of the profession of architecture in Scan-
danavia," his thesis includes an analysis of 7,000
Scandanavian architects born between 1800 and 1921.
Marzolf's interest in history has extended beyond
the University, serving as chairman of the State
Historical Preservation Review Board. With the Ann
Arbor Historical Foundation, Marzolf headed a sur-
vey of downtown buildings which Ann Arbor city
planners have called invaluable.
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while students use the library. Fewer
students in the summer make it an
ideal time to work on the building, he
said.
DURING THE heavy traffic of fall
and winter terms more than one million
students and staff pass through the
library doors, Norden said. The new
carpeting, which will not include
the lobby, will cut down on the noise in
the building, he said.
Norden proposed the changes when
he took over as the library's director a
year-and-a-half ago. The renovations
are well-deserved because the building
has been virtually ignored by the
University, since it opened in 1956, he
said.
Some students who complained that
the library has become a social hall said
they were worried the improved con-
ditions would not help.
"I never use the UGLi. It's too social
to get studying done," said Carolyn
Gillespie, a senior in the School of
Education. "The renovations may
make the place even more social."
Other students were more optimistic
and said the changes would be
welcome.
"The changes will make the place
more comfortable, more conducive to
studying," said Alissa Wald, LSA
sophomore. "I will go to the UGLi more
once the changes have been made."