That fund, after 60 working days, was totally wiped out. After being replenished, it was emptied again in another 30 days.

The effort raised $40 million from women for Harvard. The result, Hauser says, is that women will be a central part of Harvard fundraising in the future.

Although she was not much taller than the lectern before her, Hauser nonetheless managed to captivate her audience as one of the speakers at yesterday's exclusive event. She offered toasts to all assembled and a saucy description of Harvard's "asking you for a few million."

Hauser, a self-described Rockefeller Republican, began her career in the Justice Department after law firms told her they were not interested in hiring women. Soon she was writing speeches for then-President Richard M. Nixon and was appointed to the U.N. Commission on Human Rights.

Eventually, she made her way into law, but maintained an active interest in Israel and the Middle East--a fascination that has been shared via the opinion pages of America's newspapers.

A non-believing Jew, Hauser's involvement in the Middle East has been considerable.

In the late 1980s, she was one of five American Jews to meet secretly with Palestianian leader Yassir Arafat, helping to restart talks between the U.S. and the Palestinian Liberation Organization that had been stalled for more than a decade.