In one student prank, he was detained in an insane asylum in Staunton, Virginia, where he had traveled for a church conference.

On top of all of these problems with the students, Peck proved to be an inadequate fundraiser for the college; in June 1851, he announced his intention to leave the institution the following year, citing his belief that he was ill-suited to the tasks associated with the job.

[4] Though not a college graduate himself, Peck was prominent in the beginnings of Syracuse University, serving as the first chairman of its board of trustees.

[5] He developed what became, in effect, the university's first master plan: a scheme for the construction of seven buildings on land donated by George F. Comstock, also a member of the Board.

Nationally renowned architect Horatio Nelson White was the designer of this French Second Empire structure.