The proposed campus on Roosevelt Island

We already know that Bloomberg has his eyes on Stanford for the new applied sciences university the city plans to build. Stanford President John Hennessey, a Long Island native, laid it on thick in his monthly column for Stanford Magazine.

"We would leverage our long experience in distance education, allowing students on both coasts to register for courses taught by faculty in either location," Hennessey wrote. "With modern video technology, we see New York and Palo Alto separated by less than one second, rather than 2,500 miles."

It's the classic pitch; yes this will be a long distance relationship, but we can still make it work. And don't pay any attention to what the gossips are saying.

"More than a century ago, in the face of great criticism and ridicule, the Stanfords risked their wealth to found this university...I believe partnering with New York City offers a similar opportunity to demonstrate what a difference a great university can make and to begin the process of understanding how universities can operate in more than one location, something our colleagues in industry mastered more than a decade ago."

Just imagine it. Academia and industry, Stanford and Bloomberg, a Hennessey on the rocks and a sunset view from Roosevelt Island.