The College of Emporia was a private college in Emporia, Kansas from 1882 to 1974, and was associated with the Presbyterian church. When founded, it was one of two higher education institutions in the city of Emporia, the other at that time was the "Kansas State Normal School" established for teacher training and was later renamed Kansas State Teachers College (KSTC) and reorganized in the mid-to-late 1970s as a state liberal arts college with the name changed to Emporia State University. Since Emporia had two colleges before 1900, the city was sometimes called the "Athens of Kansas."