Edward Waters College Edward Waters College is a private college located in Jacksonville , Florida . It was founded in 1866 to educate freed former slaves and is the oldest historically black college in Florida . It is affiliated with the African Methodist Episcopal Church , and is part of the Independent Colleges and Universities of Florida . Its current president is Nat Glover , the former Sheriff of Jacksonville . History . The first African Methodist Episcopal ( AME ) pastor in the state , William G . Steward , originally named the college Brown Theological Institute . Charles H . Pearce was also involved in establishing an educational institution for the church . The school went through some financial difficulties and closed for much of the 1870s . It reopened in 1883 as " East Florida Conference High School ” , then changed to “ East Florida Scientific and Divinity High School ” . Over the next ten years , the curriculum was expanded and the school was renamed for the third bishop of the AME Church , Edward Waters . The original Edward Waters College campus was destroyed by the Great Fire of 1901 , but by 1904 new land was obtained and work was started on the new facility . Edward Waters was accredited as a junior college in 1955 under President William B . Stewart and five years later had a restored four - year curriculum . Beginning in 1979 the school was accredited as a four - year institution by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools ( SACS ) and started awarding bachelor ' s degree s . Accreditation problems . In 2004 , Edward Waters College submitted documents to SACS to support their request for reaccreditation . A " Florida Times - Union " investigation in October discovered that the EWC documents plagiarized sections of text and statistics from a similar Alabama A & M University document . The Commission on Colleges voted to drop EWC from membership in SACS , but the school appealed . A hearing was held in Atlanta during February 2005 , and the appeal by Edward Waters College was denied . The school then filed a lawsuit seeking an injunction during litigation , which a federal judge granted . The judge stated that the college could show they were denied due process , and appointed two mediators . In June , the college and SACS agreed to a settlement that allowed the school to remain accredited while re - filing their accreditation documentation . The college ' s accreditation was reaffirmed in 2006 . Campus . Historic facilities . Centennial Hall . Centennial Hall , which contains the Obi - Scott - Umunna Collection of African Art , is the oldest building on campus . Built in 1916 , it was added to the United States National Register of Historic Places on May 4 , 1976 . Athletics . Edward Waters athletic teams are known as the Tigers and Lady Tigers . The college is a member of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics ( NAIA ) Division I level , primarily competing in the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference ( GCAC ) . The Tigers formerly competed in The Sun Conference , formerly known as the Florida Sun Conference ( FSC ) . Men ' s sports include baseball , basketball , cheerleading , cross country , football , golf and track & field ; while women ' s sports include basketball , cheerleading , cross country , golf , softball , track & field and volleyball . Honorary Degrees . The school awarded honorary degree s to U . S . Representative Corrine Brown ( who also served as a Faculty Member of the School ) , Florida State Representative Willye Dennis and John Delaney , former mayor of Jacksonville and current president of the University of North Florida .