Cornelius J. Peck papers, 1958-1993

Cornelius Peck was born on the Upper Peninsula of Michigan before attending Harvard on a scholarship. After earning his law degree from Harvard, Peck briefly joined the Navy. By 1954, Peck started his 39-year career as a professor at UW.

Teaching in the School of Law, Peck taught fundamental classes but also revolutionized the program by adding skill-based training courses. Classes teaching negotiating techniques, for example, helped propel the law school at UW into the national spotlight. Peck was also an expert in labor and administration law. He participated either as a guest, panelist, or host of the Pacific Coast Labor Law Conference from 1968-1993. Through these conferences, Peck and his colleagues would discuss topic such as disabled workers’ rights, equal access employment, and civil rights protections. At UW, he also worked with the Asian Law Program with funding from the Ford Foundation.

In addition to his teaching career and conference participation, Peck published many articles relating to workers’ rights. He was also a member for the Associated Vintners’ winery group created by Russian Professor Ivar Spector. Professor Cornelius Peck passed away in Seattle in 2008.