William Jasper Kerr was born in Richmond, Utah on November 17, 1863 to Robert Marion and Nancy Rawling Kerr. He was married to Leonora Hamilton in 1885. He attended University of Utah (U of U) and Cornell University.

After receiving his education, he worked at various Utah schools, including the Brigham Young College in Logan, Utah, and U of U. Kerr was the president of Brigham Young College from 1894-1900 before he became the fourth President of Utah State University (USU, formerly known as the Agricultural College of Utah). During his time at USU, Kerr expanded its academic offerings and also sought out a merge between USU and U of U that was ultimately stopped by the Utah legislator limiting what subjects could be taught at USU. In 1907 he left USU to become the sixth president of Oregon State University and served until 1932. Kerr was also the first chancellor of the Oregon State System of Higher Education from 1932-1935 and until 1939 he served as the director of research in production and marketing for the Oregon State System of Higher Education.

Kerr passed in Portland, Oregon on April 15, 1947.