Gerald Thompkins, associate dean for student affairs in Wayne State 's College of Engineering , was interviewed by Metro Networks reporter Alisa Zee, for story it aired on the Michigan-Louis Stokes alliance for Minority Participation (MI-LSAMP) program. Wayne State is offering The "Engineering Pre-First Year" (EPFY) program at the WSU College of Engineering, and those designed by the other alliance partners - Michigan State, University of Michigan, and Western Michigan - are part of an effort by these universities to boost the graduation levels of African-Americans, Native Americans and Hispanics by 50 percent in 5 years. The MI-LSAMP is a five-year, $2.5 million program funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) to the four alliance partners. Wayne State will receive $100,000 annually for the next five years.