Dr. Barrett joined the faculty of the Mathematics Department in 1961. He served as head of the department from 1964 until his death in 1969. He was a specialist in the theory of differential equations, held many National Science Foundation grants and federal research contracts, and was the author of more than a dozen articles in major mathematics journals in the US and Canada.
The John H. Barrett prize and the John H. Barrett Memorial Lectures were established in the Mathematics Department in his memory. In addition, his contributions to the intellectual life of the university were recognized by the placement of a plaque in his honor on a faculty study in the John C. Hodges Library in 1986.