You’ve got to hand it to academics. They really know how to get away for the summer.

Take Michael Taylor for example. The assistant professor of geology at Kansas University spent the summer in the high, remote mountains of western Tibet doing research.

“These are places where no one else has been,” Taylor said. “It takes a special person to do research on the plateau. You have to be really interested in the geology.”

Days from the nearest town and at elevations higher than 15,000 feet, Taylor and a team that included a KU graduate student hiked the rugged terrain daily. They made detailed maps of fault scarps, major breaks in the slopes caused by earthquakes.

The pristine landscape was perfect for Taylor’s research because its lack of alteration by humans made it easier to see and study active faults.

But the area wouldn’t make a good vacation spot for those who thrive on social interaction. The team worked in solitude, accompanied only by distant herds of wild donkeys, gazelles and antelope. Occasionally they spotted or met migrating nomads.

Each summer, many at KU disperse to locales across the globe – for vacation, research or a change in perspective.

“It gets you outside the world we trap ourselves in here in Lawrence, Kansas,” said KU senior Kristi Wass, who explored Italy.

And each year, as the fall semester nears, KU faculty and students return with tall tales of adventure.

Gitti Salami, assistant professor in the departments of African and African-American studies and art history, trekked to Dakar, Senegal, for the Dak’Art 2006 exhibition, a biannual event that features contemporary art.

The American art world almost completely ignores the works of contemporary African artists – overlooking high-quality, sophisticated works, Salami said.

The exhibition offered Salami the rare opportunity to see works that are nearly impossible to find in the United States, she said.

“None of it fits our image of what Africa is,” she said.

The works didn’t fit the common stereotypes about Africa, Salami said, but instead were unique efforts of self-expression, some reflecting on urban life, poverty, apartheid, terrorism or religion.

“People are expressive of contemporary concerns all around the world,” she said. “They all have something to say, and they’re all of equal value.”

Salami said she will share what she learned in her travels with her students.

Wass, the KU senior, traveled to Italy with a group of KU design students. She toured Milan and Venice, snapping photos of the people and places.

As a design student, she observed the way Italians design everyday objects with a sort of joy.

“I love their excitement for everyday things,” she said. “It gets me excited. It gets me excited about my work back here and gives me a lot of reference points for projects that I’m working on.”

Travel keeps academics fresh and is essential for maintaining credibility both with colleagues and students, said Isidro Rivera, associate professor in the department of Spanish and Portuguese. Rivera has conducted research and led a language institute for KU students in Spain.

“If I’ve never touched a medieval wall, I can’t claim to know what the Middle Ages are about,” he said.