The university’s Archaeology Program provides undergraduate and graduate students and the public with unparalleled opportunities to participate in the studying and unearthing of one of the most historic regions in the Americas. In 2005, the state of Florida established the state-wide Florida Public Archaeology Network operated through UWF and headquartered in historic downtown Pensacola. Also, UWF offers the only program in Public History in the Florida-Gulf Coast region. Historic Pensacola Village, 22 historic properties under the care of West Florida Historic Preservation, Inc., plays a key role in connecting UWF to the region's rich history.

Funding Priorities:

• Scholarship and internship support for public history graduate students who will live in Historic Pensacola Village, the first “living-learning laboratory” of its kind in America
• Endowed chair and scholarship fund in archaeology to ensure continuity and growth of the program beyond the retirement of the Archaeology Institute's founder, Dr. Judy Bense
• Funding for the Admiral John H. Fetterman State of Florida Maritime Museum and Research Center
• Restoration and reconstruction of the 1825 Barkley House and gardens resulting in a premiere special event facility with historic value and regional importance

Impact of Support…by 2010:

• UWF Public History graduate students will be living in, learning from and taking care of the properties in Historic Pensacola Village.
• The Archaeology Program will be poised to attract a nationally-known, community-focused professor and department chair to lead the program following the retirement of the current director and chair.
• The Admiral John H. Fetterman State of Florida Maritime Museum and Research Center will be promoting tourism and intense public interest in maritime studies and will provide space to select UWF academic programs.
• The UWF Center for Heritage Studies at Historic Pensacola Village will be providing an interdisciplinary approach to academic programs through an Oral History Institute, a Cultural and Historic Preservation Center and an Institutional Policy Center.