Joseph (Joe) Eakin (nominated for a two-year opening) grew up in Azle, TX, a small town just west of Fort Worth. He always had a passion for helping others, first serving as a mentor in Azle High School where he set up a tutoring program, logged hundreds of hours of community service, and served as a prosecutor on the teen court.  His first job was umpiring youth baseball and softball games.  After graduating high school, he went to earn his Bachelor of Science degree in Geography at the University of North Texas.  It is here, he learned the immersive world of the planetarium.  His job as a Console Operator at the Sky Theater of the University of North Texas, allowed him to work on productions, give shows to school groups, and aid in astronomy labs. After graduation he continued his planetarium work to take on the position of program coordinator for a new planetarium at the University of Texas at Arlington. He learned how to produce animations and operate a full-dome immersive theater.

He has always dreamed of living in upstate New York with its bitter cold, so after interviewing in a NY blizzard. He joined Colgate and Hamilton as the Senior Visualization Lab Designer and Technician in 2008.  Immersed in Colgate's liberal arts setting, he works closely with faculty and students designing content for many disciplines across campus.

Joe manages a science outreach program for school aged children bringing in around 2000 kids annually, and trains students to present science material to the general public.

Shortly after arriving in Hamilton, Joe continued his work mentoring by taking on a local 10 year old. Due to special circumstances a few years later, Joe took him in and helped raise him as his own. He is now attending college in Rochester.

For the past nine years, Joe has connected with the community by volunteering as an umpire for girls’ softball, announcing at high school hockey games, and coaching a team in the Hamilton Co-ed Softball League. He has also brought in thousands of school kids and public in many science outreach programs at Colgate.
He is a registered Democrat.