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. Profile will be a regularfeature every Tuesday ( ! It i Fllt Et l c l e tch tiou AvoO tt 1 an tlg $ 8 it,#igttn 3 ttilg c hE trbtgan a at*llj Undergrad Library to receive a facelift (Continued from Page 1) 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."