Increasing the number of women and minority faculty members has been a goal of the University for 26 years, Peimer said, but the College has been slow to meet the goals.
"The numbers are still below the availability statistics," she said. "[Diversifying the faculty] is a goal that Harvard itself accepts but hasn't worked on enough."
The check to Rudenstine, she added, is a "symbolic statement of The coalition currently includes groups ranging from the Undergraduate Council to the Black Students Association to Hillel. It is an unofficial coalition, Peimer said, because increasing diversity "is an issue that so many people are working on already on different fronts." Peimer said she hopes a meeting on Thursday will help the coalition form long-term goals. "We realize that Harvard won't meet these goals overnight," she said. In the future, coalition members said, the group hopes to put more pressure on the administration and meet with department heads. --Sadie H. Sanchez contributed to the reporting of this story.