to Panama City. On June 23, 1983, ground breaking occurred for the $9.1 million Phase I development of FSU at Panama City. The new facilities were formally dedicated on March 22, 1986. The administrative building was named in honor of Senator Dempsey J. Barron, who sponsored the bill that secured funds for the permanent location of an FSU facility in Panama City. The new campus facilities opened for students in January 1987. In March 1987, an additional along the bay were deeded to the State for use by the campus. This donation brought the campus to its current size of . A new conference center facility was completed in January 2000, and the master plan for the development of the campus over the next decade included the construction of facilities, student life and academic buildings. On June 8, 2012, The Florida State University's Board of Trustees approved a four-year academic plan for FSU Panama City which allowed the campus to offer a limited range of general-education and lower-level courses that are focused on upper-level majors offered at FSU Panama City. This historic decision allowed for the admission of the first freshman class in fall 2013. FSU Panama City is the only university in the country to offer undergraduate and graduate certificates in Underwater Crime Scene Investigation. Starting in 2-16, FSU Panama City began an expansion of programs including undergraduate degrees in mechanical engineering, hospitality management, commercial entrepreneurship public health, and financial planning and graduate degrees in law enforcement intelligence, organizational management and communications, and systems engineering. In addition, the degree in nurse anesthesia was converted to a Doctorate in Nurse Anesthesia. As part of this growth in programs, FSU Panama City added student housing serving both FSU and Gulf Coast State College students. Notes and references External links FSU Panama City official website Southwest z Public universities and colleges in Florida Two year upper class colleges Education in Bay County, Florida Buildings and structures in Panama City, Florida Educational institutions established in 1982 1982 establishments in Florida