Tribute: Christopher Barreca, Attorney and Former BU Trustees Chair
Photo by BU Photography
Christopher Barreca, Former Chair of the BU Board of Trustees, Dies
Attorney made contributions to the legal profession and worked to further BU’s mission
Christopher Anthony Barreca, known for being exuberant and intellectual, and a family man with an endless joy for life and thirst for knowledge, died on January 29, 2023. He was 94.
Barreca (DGE’50, LAW’53) was born in Pittsfield, Mass., in 1928. He was a proud BU alumnus and later earned an LLM from Northwestern University School of Law. While at BU, Barreca was selected as “Man of the Year” in 1952 and, more important, he met the love of his life, Alice Hazlehurst (Sargent’53). They were married for six decades.
An accomplished attorney, Barreca made important contributions to the legal profession and to society through his work as a senior labor and employment law counsel with the General Electric Corporation and then as partner and chair of the Stamford, Conn., office of the firm Paul, Hastings, Janofsky, & Walker. He also served on the governing council of the American Bar Association’s labor and employment law section and dispute resolution section. Equal parts practitioner and scholar, he wrote many leading treatises on labor arbitration.
Throughout his life, Barreca remained committed to furthering BU’s mission, serving as chair of the Board of Trustees and receiving the School of Law Alumni Association’s Silver Shingle Award for service to the profession. The Barreca Climbing Wall in the BU Fitness & Recreation Center stands in his honor, and the Christopher A. and Alice H. Barreca Labor Relations Endowment Fund and DeWolfe Boathouse Endowment Fund continue his legacy of scholarship and accomplishment.
Barreca also served on the board of selectmen in Weston, Conn., and as chair of the town’s board of education.
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