Should a tortoise take advice from a mayfly?

A memo came in that stated that we faculty had to take account of “the political reality.”

I couldn’t help but think of the saying, “A week is a long time in politics.” Their horizon of concern is usually about four years long. Political fortunes wax and wane.

Faculty, on the other hand, can have a career at an institution that runs about thirty years from associate professor to retirement at 65. They’ll typically see deans, chairs, provosts, and presidents turn over with about the same frequency as elected officials.

Should a tortoise take advice from a mayfly?

Photo by ucumari on Flickr; used under a Creative Commons license.