It is with sadness that we learned that Professor F Michael Barrett passed away last week. He was an accomplished entomologist who had an important role in supporting our students and making them feel welcome. In CSB and our predecessor, the Department of Zoology, Mike Barrett was a force for collegiality, fairness, and a focus on individual students as well as the student body as a whole.
Barrett taught over 500 undergraduates a year in small and large courses with great care and concern for students. His support is behind the F Michael Barrett Award that recognizes excellence from undergraduate researchers.
His consideration for students was applied to course design and curriculum development across campus. Undergraduate Coordinator Janet Mannone remembers “Mike was able to concern himself with the big picture, such as the quality of our undergraduate programs while focusing on the small details, such as fine tuning course descriptions for the Arts and Science Calendar.”
Within the Department, Barrett always worked to raise up others. He submitted nominations for staff awards and advocated for promotion of junior faculty. Professor Ellie Larson asserts that “He was an energetic force for ‘improvement’ in the department and society, where his stature increased without pushing anyone else down.”
Barrett’s early teaching duties included courses on reproduction, which lead to decades of involvement in the field of human sexuality. He had a particular interest in promoting the sexual health and wellbeing of people with disabilities. Barrett was Executive Director of the Sex Information and Education Council of Canada (SIECCAN) and Editor of the Canadian Journal of Human Sexuality from 1992 to 2016.
Please follow the link for more details from his family and friends on his “generous, compassionate and loving nature“.