Edward Barrett. Source: https://senate.universityofcalifornia.edu/in-memoriam/files/edward-l-barrett.html
Utah State University. Photo: Cory Maylett, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Old_Main_Utah_St_Univ.jpg)
University of California, Berkeley School of Law. Photo: Patrick Nouhailler's…, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Berkeley_-_panoramio_(1).jpg)
United States Navy
University of California, Berkeley
Utah State University. Photo: Cory Maylett, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Old_Main_Utah_St_Univ.jpg)
University of California, Berkeley School of Law. Photo: Patrick Nouhailler's…, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Berkeley_-_panoramio_(1).jpg)
United States Navy
University of California, Berkeley
Edward L. Barrett Jr. was born on August 11, 1917, in Wellington, Kansas, and was raised in Utah. His parents were Jeannette and Edward Barrett. His upbringing in Utah preceded an academic and professional career centered on legal education, constitutional law, and public service in California and Washington, D.C.
Barrett earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Utah State University in 1938. He then attended the University of California, Berkeley, School of Law, where he graduated first in his class in 1941. His legal education provided the foundation for a career combining constitutional-law scholarship, public service, and university teaching.
Barrett began his professional career as a research assistant with the California Judicial Council in 1941. He joined the United States Navy in 1942 and served during the Second World War. After completing his military service, he began teaching at the University of California, Berkeley, in 1946 and became a professor of law there in 1950. In 1957, he spent six months in Washington, D.C., as special assistant to the Attorney General of the United States, assisting with the development of the Civil Rights Act of 1957. He was appointed to a University of California committee in 1960 to study the need for a new public law school. His work on the committee helped guide the decision to establish the law school at Davis, and in 1964 he became the founding dean of the University of California, Davis, School of Law. At Davis, he recruited the founding faculty, helped establish the law library, oversaw the development of the law-school building, and attracted the school's early students. During his deanship, the school obtained accreditation from the American Bar Association and membership in the Association of American Law Schools. He stepped down as dean in 1974 and retired from teaching in 1986, remaining active as a legal scholar and in the King Hall community for many years.
Helped establish the University of California, Davis, School of Law and served as its founding dean, recruiting its initial faculty, developing its law library and facilities, and guiding the school through accreditation and early enrollment growth.
Assisted the United States Attorney General in the development of the Civil Rights Act of 1957.
Graduated first in his class from the University of California, Berkeley, School of Law in 1941.
Barrett was associated with the American Bar Foundation, the State Bar of California, the American Judicature Society, and the Order of the Coif. These affiliations reflected his continuing participation in the professional, scholarly, and institutional life of American law.
Barrett was described by colleagues as thoughtful, measured, and accessible. His approach to academic administration emphasized collegiality, transparent faculty processes, and a law-school community in which students and faculty could interact closely.
Quotes from others about the person
Colleagues remembered Barrett as a thoughtful and measured dean whose accessible style and commitment to transparent faculty processes helped establish enduring traditions at the University of California, Davis, School of Law.
Barrett was closely connected with the University of California system. He helped shape the creation of the University of California, Davis, School of Law, served as its founding dean, and remained part of the King Hall community after retiring from teaching. He was survived by his children Douglas, Susan, and Kent, as well as grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
