The college was originally named after Thomas Nelson, Jr. (December 26, 1738 – January 4, 1789), who was an American planter, soldier, and statesman from Yorktown, Virginia.

Founding Fathers, since he signed the Declaration of Independence as a member of the Virginia delegation.

[3] In 2014, the school faced a lawsuit from student Christian Parks related to the right to speak freely in public on campus at a conversational level on certain topics.

The following year the college's Local Advisory Board determined that the name needed to be changed, as Thomas Nelson, Jr. was a slaveholder.

The decision was made to not rename three other buildings with similar names as, at the time, they were due to be demolished and replaced.