Harvard College denied the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study's request for table space at activities fairs today and last Monday, citing the Institute's reduced role in undergraduate life.

Radcliffe--whose legal ties to undergraduates were formally severed by last October's merger with Harvard--had sought space to recruit students for its programs that involve undergraduates, such as externships and its phone-a-thon. In past years, Radcliffe has had a table of its own to advertise its programs to College students.

But College officials said that with Radcliffe no longer a college, a separate table did not seem appropriate.

"Since Radcliffe is now an Institute for Advanced Study, with no responsibility for undergraduate education, we felt that it didn't make sense for them to be at a fair for College students," Associate Dean David P. Illingworth '71 wrote in an e-mail message.

To advertise their programs without a table, the Institute put pamphlets about its offerings on the Women's Leadership Project's (WLP) table at Monday's first-year fair. The Radcliffe Institute is one of WLP's sponsors.

The brochures distributed through WLP included information about job opportunities with the Radcliffe phone-a-thon and the undergraduate mentorship and externship programs run through the Radcliffe Alumna Association.

But Radcliffe officials said they worry that their lack of table space is hampering their recruiting efforts.

Radcliffe Development Officer Heather C. Wynne, who heads the phone-a-thon, said her office usually gets the names of about 100 first-years who are interested in working for the program.