Joseph E. Keating Jr., MBA, grew up in Wellston, Ohio, a close-knit Jackson County town in the Appalachian foothills of southeastern Ohio, where hard work, neighborliness, and lending a hand were simply a way of life. The Boy Scouts of America helped shape those early years: he earned the rank of Eagle Scout and served seven summers as a camp counselor, experiences that instilled lasting lessons in leadership, preparedness, and service to others. He remains a proud supporter of Scouting to this day. That same work ethic followed him to the University of Rio Grande, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in business in 1991 and joined Tau Kappa Epsilon (TKE), a fraternity built on character, personal worth, and service, values that suited him naturally and deepened his lifelong commitment to putting people first. 

After college, President Keating devoted the next twenty years to serving individuals with developmental disabilities at the Gallipolis Developmental Center. Working alongside dedicated caregivers and the residents they served, he developed the leadership philosophy that still guides him: the belief that a leader’s first job is to serve – to listen, to remove obstacles, and to treat every person with dignity. During those years, he also continued his own education, earning a Master of Business Administration from the University of Phoenix in 2008 and pairing his heart for service with the management discipline to match. 

In 2010, President Keating joined the Zanesville community as Director of Operations for Ohio University Zanesville and Zane State College, serving both institutions on their shared campus and quickly coming to know and respect the students, faculty, and staff who make it special. In 2016, he joined Zane State College full time as Chief Information Officer. In the years since, he has championed student success through campus safety, technology, and infrastructure initiatives – essential work in pursuit of a single goal: a safe, modern, and welcoming campus where every Zane State student can focus on what matters most, their future. 

Now, as Zane State College’s seventh president, he brings that same down-to-earth spirit to the role – service before self, students at the center, and deep gratitude for the community he has proudly served since 2010. From a Scout in Wellston to a career spent in service of others, his journey is a living promise to every Zane State student: no matter where you begin, when you dream boldly, work hard, and are surrounded by a community that believes in you, there is no limit to how far you can go.

President Keating Curriculum Vitae