Women are expected to own half the wealth in the United States by 2010. They also account for 58 percent of undergraduates at colleges today. Those statistics should loom large for higher-education fund raisers at a time when almost every institution is either in the middle of its largest fund-raising campaign ever or planning to announce one. But despite 20 years of chatter among college leaders about how female benefactors will play a bigger role in the success of fund-raising campaigns, little is known about how their gifts have grown or changed. Now fund raisers say there is a greater urgency to pay close attention. Higher-education institutions are increasingly seeking ways to encourage more women to give. They are putting in place programs for alumnae on personal finance and wealth management, as well as on leadership and volunteering. They are creating opportunities for women to support female-driven programs on campus, to serve on leadership councils, and to land on governing boards.