Alumni associations watch attendance boom.(Columbia Business School)(Brief Article)

About 30 people gathered recently at the Bay Tower Room in Boston to hear a Fidelity Investments executive speak on management techniques during a time of crisis.

Mingling before the presentation began, the guests of the Columbia Business School Alumni Club of Boston consumed hors d'oeuvres and drinks, politely inquired about business opportunities and exchanged cards.

"In general, given the state of the economy, people are taking more interest in their college and business school or alma mater," said Rusty Hartley, a club board member.

As the recession deepens, alumni associations have found themselves increasingly sought after by college-and business school graduates to help them find work. What once were sparsely attended, overlooked events have blossomed into star attractions.

Moreover, those associations have been doing more than just arranging alumni gatherings over lectures. They have launched networking events from-coast to coast, plotted to use the Internet to bring together graduates searching for work and made their health insurance available to families of unemployed alumni.

But, mostly, it has been all about meeting, greeting and swapping business cards.

"In the past six months, calls for networking programs have been huge," said Grace Cotter Regan, executive director of the Boston College Alumni Association. "We're finding that, a year or two ago, we'd have a small network event. We'd be lucky if the response rate was 3 (percent) to 5 percent."