In August 1881, Armsby accepted the position of Vice Principal and Professor of Agricultural Chemistry at Storrs Agricultural School, established by the Connecticut General Assembly earlier that year.[4] Following Solomon Mead's retirement in 1882, Armsby was appointed acting principal. During a speech to the Connecticut Board of Agriculture that year, he championed the civic, scientific, and economic value of the school as a venue to produce successful farmers and community leaders. The school, he declared, was not an "asylum for incapables."[5] His short tenure was "somewhat in the nature of marking time," according to one biographer.[4] In 1883, Armsby resigned and Benjamin F. Koons was appointed principal beginning the winter term of 1883.[6]