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WHEELING-New Cumberland native Joe Greathouse has been named director of Oglebay’s Good Zoo in Wheeling, W.Va.
Greathouse’s appointment will mean his return to a zoo where he worked from 1999 to 2012, during which time he served as animal keeper, manager of animal husbandry and animal curator. From 2012 to 2015, he was director of wildlife ecology at The Wilds, a conservation center affiliated with the Columbus Zoo.
Greathouse succeeds Director John Hargleroad and will continue to work as assistant professor of biology at West Liberty University, where he helped develop the new Zoo Science Program. The degree program is a collaboration between West Liberty and the Good Zoo.
Greathouse graduated from Weirton Madonna High School in 1994 and earned his bachelor’s degree in biology at West Virginia University. It was from WVU that he also earned his master’s (in wildlife and fisheries resources management) and his doctorate (in animal and nutrition sciences).
Upon completing his doctorate, he was hired as assistant professor of biology at West Liberty in August 2015.
The only West Virginia zoo accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, the Good Zoo is home to 70 species, including 22 that are rare or endangered.
Greathouse is the son of Bill and Sally Greathouse.