Faculty Spotlight: Jessica Black

Monday, June 23, 2025

By Deanna Rea

Jessica Black began her journey at Bakersfield College in the Fall of 2022, taking on the role of Psychology Professor with an eagerness to share her enthusiasm and commitment to student success. Since then, she has expanded her portfolio and now teaches a diverse range of courses, including Statistics, General Psychology, and Research for Behavioral Sciences. Her teaching style blends academic rigor with practical application, aiming to help students not only understand psychological theories but also see their relevance in everyday life.

Driven by a deep interest in research and a strong affinity for statistics, she was inspired to pursue a career in psychology. She holds a bachelor’s degree in International Relations from Georgetown University and a master's degree in Biological Psychology from Humboldt State University. She then went on to earn a PhD in Social Psychology from the University of Oklahoma. Her doctoral research centered on the intersection of morality, narrative, and imagination, specifically examining how fictional stories shape the way we think about moral issues in the real world.

“I came back to school sixteen years after getting an undergraduate degree, and I was interested in moral psychology and consciousness,” she says, “at the time, psychology had better career prospects and I am also very interested in research, and although there is now something called experimental philosophy, there’s more experience with science in psychology.”

After living in Spain for some time, she decided to return to California and take care of her parents during the height of the pandemic. She also came in search of teaching positions in the community college system. She explains, “I was living in Spain, and I came back to California for my master’s degree, and to pursue teaching at a community college. My grandfather was instrumental in organizing the community college system in California,” she says, “so it has always been important to me to teach in that setting.”

Apart from the joy of research and conducting her own studies, she also enjoys sharing that passion with her students and inspiring them to conduct their own research. She says, “I enjoy seeing when they finally understand how things work, but I most enjoy their excitement; when they get excited about something that I’m teaching, a discussion we’re having, or other aspects of the class.”

“My ultimate goal as a professor is to have absolutely [every] student get an A, B, or C in the class and nobody fails,” she jokes. “Another goal, and this is the important one, is not to teach students specific things but to teach them how to learn. I want them to be able to think critically and understand media literacy enough to judge what is good research and bad research [and] distinguish between noise and information.”

She explains that developing a stronger understanding of human behavior can be beneficial in many aspects of life, beyond academic responsibilities. “You have to understand our entire lives are constructed of our relationships with other people,” she says. “Relationships matter for whatever job you have; for learning, for your family.” She adds, “The most important [lesson] is that people really matter. So, whoever you deal with, look them in the eye, be interested, and ask them. It doesn’t matter who they are. That’s how the world works is you make connections with people.”

When Professor Black is not collecting data or researching new topics, she spends her free time competing in endurance riding, completing fifty miles in only twelve hours on horseback. Her goals for the future involve taking care of her family, helping students achieve their goals, and prioritizing her own happiness and well-being. “I am always trying to perfect my courses and make them applicable for specifically Bakersfield College populations, so I am constantly improving everything,” she says. “Generally, my goals for the future are: be happy and survive the next year.”