The College of West Africa was opened in 1839 (as the "Monrovia Seminary"), making it one

of the oldest European-style schools in Africa. It has produced many of Liberia's leaders and
includes among its alumni Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, and Liberian Vice President
Joseph Boakai.

The College of West Africa's main building is named in memory of Melville B. Cox, a
Methodist missionary from Edenton Street United Methodist Church, who was a founder of the
College. A historic stained glass window in the College's auditorium reads: "Though a thousand
fall, let not Africa be given up".

The Methodist Episcopal Church had formed a Missionary Society in 1819, but no suitable
foreign missionary had yet been found. Melville B. Cox offered himself to Bishop Elijah
Hedding for the South American field. Instead, Hedding asked if he would go to Liberia,
established on Africa's west coast for freed American slaves.

Cox sailed from Norfolk on November 6, 1832, arriving in Monrovia on March 8, 1833. Melville
B. Cox of Maine was the first Methodist missionary to Liberia. His vision for his work in Liberia
included establishing a mission house, a school, a seminary for young Christian converts, and
churches. His accomplishment to realizing these dreams was the purchasing of a house that had
formerly been the property of the Basel Missionary Society; and getting the Methodist Church
established in Liberia as a branch of the Methodist Episcopal Church in the U.S. He held camp
meeting, started regular worship and Sunday school, and developed mission strategies all within
a few weeks of his arrival, but his health was simply not up to the task, and he died of malaria on
July 21, 1833 after three months of decline.

In 1816 the General Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church institutionalized the course
of study for candidates to the ministry. . . persons desiring to be admitted into full connection
would have to complete the course of study. It therefore became imperative that a conference
seminary be established to meet this mandate. Thus the Monrovia Seminary was established
(renamed College of West Africa in later years) in 1839. The Rev. Jabez A. Burton was
commissioned the Seminary's first principal immediately after its establishment; and served until
his death in August 1842.

The Rev. Alexander P. Camphor, was appointed Principal in 1896. At the end of his first year of
administration, he began the re-organization of the seminary to eventually include a high school.
In 1897 Camphor presented his plans to the Liberian Annual conference where it carried a
majority vote for the transformation of the Monrovia Seminary to the College of West Africa
with the following as its charter:- that it be the one central and leading school of all Methodist
educational institutions; providing degree granting courses in ministerial training whilst also
providing a high school education; that dormitory facilities be established for male and female
students.

For the next ten years Rev. Camphor worked to implement this new plan as voted upon at the
1897 session of the Liberian Annual Conference. His first project in this new plan was the
erection of the school building to be named the Cox Memorial Auditorium - (for Melville B.
Cox, in observance of the Methodist Mission work he started.) In 1904, by an act of the Liberian
Legislature, the college was officially recognized and confirmed as the College of West Africa.

By 1925, as a result of the grave personnel and financial difficulties, and political interference,
the College was forced to close its collegiate department, but continued to function as a
secondary school with the appointment of the Rev. R. L. Embree as its new president. Rev.
Embree reorganized the curriculum and programs of the school to continue the college
preparatory courses, even though it was now a high school. He continued the building project
started by Rev. Camphor. As a result of his efforts, grounds-breaking ceremonies were held on
May 25, 1927. Construction was completed and ready for dedication on March 7, 1933.

The name “College of West Africa” was retained because of its charter to serve as a degree-
granting institution - a mandate it later carried out, granting Associate Degrees in Business and
Finance.

The school is 100% owned and operated by the Liberian Annual Conference of the United
Methodist Church.