 Not only was Eliot personally uncomfortable with the idea of naming a university after himself, but he also objected to the establishment of a seminary which would inherently be charged with teaching a religious faith, in favor of a purely non-sectarian university.Under pressure from Eliot, the Board of Trustees created a task force charged with naming the university, headed by Samuel Treat.Several months later Treat's committee proposed naming the University the "Washington Institute", after the nation's first president George Washington.