To view photos of Commencement online, visit http://www.commencement.harvard.edu.

Investment Information Fair to be offered

All faculty and staff are invited to attend the 1999 Investment Information Fair for the tax-deferred annuity and the Harvard Retirement plans: Cambridge Tuesday, June 22, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Gutman Conference Center (corner of Brattle Street and Appian Way); Longwood Medical Area Wednesday, June 23, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., Vanderbilt Hall.

At the Investment Information Fairs, faculty and staff can learn the fundamentals of investing and get more information about their Retirement Plan and TDA investment options from representatives from Fidelity Investments, Scudder, TIAA-CREF and the Vanguard Group, and the Harvard Benefits Services Group. Drop in to browse informational materials, ask questions, or attend one of the one-hour investment seminars.

Seminars this year will include "Basic Financial Planning," "Investing for Women," "Budget and Debt Management," "Using the TDA Loan Program," "Social Investing," and "Asset Allocation." No advance registration is necessary. For more information, call the Benefits Services Group at (617) 496-4001.

Design School hosts discussion on 'livable communities'

In May, the Graduate School of Design hosted a bipartisan group of U.S. congressmen to begin a series of discussions and research projects on "livable communities," that is, issues of managed growth, controlling sprawl, and enriching a sense of community. The attendees were Earl Blumenauer (D-Oregon), Douglas Bereuter (R- Nebraska), Loretta Sanchez (D-California), Nancy Johnson (R-Connecticut), and Robert Weygand (D-Rhode Island). Congressmen Harold Ford (D-Tennessee) and Elijah Cummings (D-Maryland) were represented by their staffs. The focus of the discussion highlighted the need for Congress to better understand how its actions affect the development and evolution of livable communities. These issues are expected to be at the center of the upcoming presidential campaign discussions.

The discussion produced a plan for a research agenda in the areas of 1) housing and jobs; 2) transportation and land use; and 3) remediation of brownfield sites outside the scope of the Environmental Protection Agency's superfund program. A series of events at the Design School next fall will feature public addresses by members of Congress concerned about these issues and the presentation of research findings. In the winter and spring the School will produce symposia both in Washington, D.C., and Cambridge on livable communities.