While the business school rankings debate continues. Harvard's B-School scored an impressive gain last week when a senior Stanford professor announced that he had decided to leave the California school to come east.

Stanford Professor of Business Administration Steven Wheelwright, who served as an associate professor at the school from 1971 to 1979, will join the Harvard faculty this fall, Stanford officials said.

The switch to Harvard is seen as a major gain for the school, which is seeking to expand its coverage in Wheelwright's areas of expertise--manufacturing and technology.

Despite a trend away from manufacturing toward investment banking and consulting among recent B-School graduates, some schools have recently begun to reemphasize traditional fields such as manufacturing.

The 44-year-old senior faculty member told the Boston Globe that he decided to switch schools because Harvard's size and resources greatly exceeded Stanford's. Wheelwright said that he was forced to limit his work on technology and manufacturing in favor of other areas.

Wheelwright could not be reached for comment at his home in Palo Alto, Ca. yesterday.

While Harvard B-School officials said that Wheelwright will be an asset to the school, they downplayed his importance relative to the other appointments the school makes.

"[Wheelwright] is an outstanding scholar," said Harvard B-School Professor Joseph L. Bower, "but there is really no difference between this appointment and another. We just try and get outstanding people."

Stanford officials confirmed Wheelwright's departure but refused to comment on whether his departure would be a significant blow to the school.

"We don't normally comment on specific conditions such as personnel issues," Stanford spokesperson Cathy Castillo said.

At Stanford, Wheelwright currently holds the Kleiner-Perkins, Caufield and Byers Professor of Management endowed chair at the B-School there.