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Alphonse Keasley Jr., top,
and Gene Hayworth

Two CU Boulder administrators are among four local citizens who will be recognized for their contributions to the arts in Boulder County at the sixth annual Honors event on Sept. 6.

The center recognizes groups, businesses, projects, institutions and individuals who are engaged in the community and have made significant contributions to the arts across the county.

Alphonse Keasley Jr., an associate vice chancellor in the Office of Diversity, Equity and Community Engagement (ODECE), will receive the center’s and Gene Hayworth, the director of social sciences at the University Libraries, will receive the .

Keasley attributes his success in the arts to the New Orleans Public Schools system, where he was educated as a child. The theatrical arts have been woven throughout his life and career, from his college days at the historically black Southern University to CU Boulder, where he earned his doctorate and now works and teaches.

In Boulder, Keasley has been involved with the original Nomads Theater (now ), the , the University of Colorado Main Theater, the and several other Boulder theater companies. At the , he qualified to earn his coveted and credentials.

Keasley is also a voiceover actor with Boulder-based communication companies and has narrated more than 100 educational DVDs. In addition, he has served as the chair and on several other theater boards of directors.

“I am honored to be recognized by my fellow artists in the Boulder arts community,” Keasley said. “Theater and the bonds I have formed through the arts have sustained me over the years and have provided me with many opportunities to educate the next generation of artists.”

In addition to his CU Boulder work, Hayworth owns , an emerging cultural hub in Niwot, Colorado, and is the founder, publisher and chief editor of the independent . Twice a year, the publishing company hosts the OCP Hackathon, a short story contest that has drawn more than 960 submissions from writers working in every literary genre in 46 countries.

His contributions to the arts are multifaceted and include nurturing and mentoring CU Boulder students, highlighting global literature through his work as a literary translator, promoting new and developing authors, and celebrating literature and community through his publishing endeavors.

Hayworth is a member of the , the Rocky Mountain Booksellers Association, the American Library Association, the Global Literature in the Libraries Initiative and the International Federation of Library Associations.

“Foremost, I am a CU librarian with a passion for helping faculty, staff and students use our collections to explore existing knowledge and to generate new ideas. I am the collection development librarian for film studies and women’s and gender studies, and I take pride in building and managing these collections,” Hayworth said. “Bringing together people from various cultures and walks of life is something I am truly passionate about.”