But Cindy and Steve have, and they brought back a story and some pictures so that you can read about William and Mary’s study-abroad program in Cádiz, Spain.

Cindy and Steve are Director of Publications Cindy Baker and Campus Photographer Stephen Salpukas, who, through special arrangement with the Spanish government, journeyed to Cádiz to document the research experiences of some of our high-performing undergraduates. The arrangements with the Spanish officials were only possible through the good offices of George Greenia. The trip sounds to me like a language-immersion Outward Bound program, and it’s our cover story.

Even though I didn’t get to go to Spain (or even get a T-shirt), I had the privilege of staying here in Williamsburg and talking with William and Mary faculty about their work. So, there’s a story about what optical illusions reveal about workings of our visual systems. This summer, I also got a tour of the Tric Wesp retrospective, “What’s That On Your Head?,” guided by the artist herself. Tric is a raconteur worthy of a one-woman show and, of course, a dynamite costume designer. While we’re talking theatre, we have a little piece about two student-penned plays that were staged in New York.

I spent a pleasant portion of an afternoon talking about ancient scientists with Georgia Irby-Massie, a classics professor who uses Latin salutations and closings in her emails. Perhaps at one time you were held down and pounded with the ablative absolute, and you now believe the experience did you good. (I know I do.) If you know what I’m talking about—or even if you don’t—you might enjoy reading about her latest work.

If each time you look at a new set of college rankings, you wonder if there isn’t a better way, the answer might be yes. There’s also a twofer archaeology feature. And there’s an introduction to the GIGs—the Global Inquiry Groups that show such promise as seeds for projects that combine collaborative interdisciplinary scholarship with an international component.

Now then. This is the fifth issue of Ideation and, as good stewards of the money of the College and the Commonwealth, we have to determine if a four-color print magazine is the best and most efficient way of getting the word out. People like print, but it does require resources in the form of money and person power. Maybe Ideation should be a web-only magazine? The powers that be have asked me to include a little questionnaire. Your answers will help us determine the best way to spend our time. (Please note: I’m not soliciting subscriptions for the magazine—just your thoughts.) There’s a web-based response mechanism or, as always, you can email the magazine at research@wm.edu. Thank you for your interest.

Joe McClain