To get money flowing from alumni, colleges try to keep them feeling plugged in to their alma mater--even if the "plug" becomes wireless. Bucknell University rolled out a new service this month that pushes cell phone text messages to its 47,000 alumni. So far only a few dozen alumni have signed up for the service. If the service, which is compatible with any cellphone plan, proves popular after one year, then Bucknell may make it permanent, said Samuel T. Lundquist, vice president for development and alumni relations. Messages will be sent out about two or three times a month. The text messages are one part of a recent drive by the university to "pull at the heartstrings of alumni" by providing them with information about academic matters, careers, and extracurricular activities, all tied to the Bucknell experience, said Mr. Lundquist. "This gives us the opportunity to provide information relevant to alumni without them feeling tethered to e-mail or printed material," he said. "It's a new avenue of communication that can be delivered to them no matter where they are in the world."