The history of Eastern Nazarene College began when several ministers and lay persons decided to establish a Christian collegiate institute in the city of Saratoga Springs, New York. On June 14, 1918, Eastern Nazarene College was chartered as a liberal arts college and school of music, with degree-granting authority in the state of Rhode Island. It had been resolved that the college curriculum be reinvigorated and the name of the institute changed to reflect both Its evolving religious identity and its initial goal of providing a liberal education. The founders of the College also decided to relocate the school to Quincy, Massachusetts, because the educational standards and requirements there were discovered to be the most rigorous in the nation.