Jessica Utts is Professor Emerita in the Department of Statistics at the University of California, Irvine, where she served as Chair from 2011 to 2016. She earned a B.A. in Mathematics and Psychology from the State University of New York at Binghamton in 1973, an M.A. in Statistics from Pennsylvania State University in 1975, and a Ph.D. in Statistics from the same institution in 1978. Utts began her academic career at the University of California, Davis, joining the Mathematics Department in the 1970s and becoming one of the founding members of the Division of Statistics in 1979. She held a professorial position there until 2008, receiving a Distinguished Teaching Award from the Davis Academic Senate in 1982 for her contributions to teaching courses such as Statistics 108: Regression Analysis, Statistics 390: Methods of Teaching Statistics, and Integrated Studies 8C: Testing Psychic Claims.

Her research focuses on applied statistics, particularly the use of statistical methods in parapsychology, as well as statistics education and promoting statistical literacy. Utts has authored several widely used textbooks, including Seeing Through Statistics (4th edition, 2015), Mind On Statistics (6th edition with Robert Heckard, 2022), and Statistical Ideas and Methods (with Robert Heckard, 2006). Notable publications include "Replication and Meta-Analysis in Parapsychology" in Statistical Science (1991), "What Educated Citizens Should Know about Statistics and Probability" in The American Statistician (2003), and "An Assessment of the Evidence for Psychic Functioning" in the Journal of Parapsychology (2018). She has held prominent leadership roles, such as President of the American Statistical Association (2016), Chair of the Committee of Presidents of Statistical Societies (2007-2009), Chief Reader for the Advanced Placement Statistics Exam (2014-2018), Vice President of the International Association for Statistical Education (2011-2013), and Chair of the Board for the Consortium for the Advancement of Undergraduate Statistics Education. Utts is a Fellow of the American Statistical Association and the Institute of Mathematical Statistics, and received the American Statistical Association Founders Award in 2009. Her efforts have significantly influenced statistical education and the rigorous application of statistics across disciplines.

Professional Email: jutts@uci.edu