Administrators and Staff

John Hylton
Dean
CoFAC

Phone: (314) 516-4570
email: John_Hylton@umsl.edu

John Hylton was appointed the Founding Dean of the College of Fine Arts and Communication at the University of Missouri-St. Louis in 2002.   Under his leadership the College has grown in enrollment, added degree programs, and collaborated with a variety of internationally prominent St. Louis arts institutions, including the Saint Louis Symphony, Saint Louis Art Museum, and Opera Theatre of Saint Louis. Six endowed professorships link the College to the greater St. Louis community, region, and nation.  The College’s  Touhill Performing Arts Center is a world-class performance facility.

Hylton received the masters and doctoral degrees in music education from the Pennsylvania State University, and the Bachelor of Science degree from Gettysburg College, Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. From 1995-2000, he was the Chair of the Department of Music and Director of Fine Arts Outreach. In addition, he has served as Interim Associate Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs (2000-2002).

Hylton is the author of numerous articles, papers, and reviews, which have been published in such journals as the Music Educators Journal, the Journal of Research in Music Education, the Journal of Music Teacher Education, The Choral Journal, the Journal of Music Therapy, and the Bulletin of the Council for Research in Music Education. He is the author of a textbook published by Prentice-Hall entitled Comprehensive Choral Music Education (1995) and he wrote "The Junior High Vocal Music Program," a chapter in Kenneth Miller's Vocal Music Education (1988).

He was the 1993 recipient of the Luther T. Spayde "Missouri Choral Conductor of the Year" Award, presented by the Missouri Choral Directors Association, and the Merit Award from the St. Louis Suburban Music Educators Association for “contributions to the advancement of music education” (1998).  John Hylton has received the Alumni Achievement Award from the Penn State University School of Music (1999), as well as the “Chancellors Award for Excellence in Service” for 2001 from the University of Missouri-St. Louis.  He is listed in Who’s Who in America.

Ms. Sharon Clark
Associate Dean for Student Affairs
CoFAC

Phone: (314) 516-5501
email: clarksd@umsl.edu

Phone:(314) 516-4205 (Dean’s Office)
(314) 516-5936 (Music Office)
email: jamesrichards@umsl.edu

James Richards serves as Associate Dean for academic affairs in the College of Fine Arts and Communication. Prior to this appointment, Dr. Richards was chair of the UMSL Department of Music for six years. He is a member of the 2005 class of the University of Missouri Leadership Development Program of the President’s Academic Leadership Institute. Dr. Richards holds a doctorate from the Eastman School of Music of the University of Rochester and degrees in orchestral conducting and music theory, as well as a Performer's Certificate in Violin, from the University of Texas at Austin. He studied orchestral and opera conducting with Walter Ducloux, Paul Vermel, and Gustav Meier, and was selected to participate in the Conductor's Program of the Aspen Music Festival.

In addition to conducting the University Orchestra, Dr. Richards currently serves as conductor and music director of the Saint Louis Chamber Orchestra and the Gateway Festival Orchestra of St. Louis. Prior to these appointments, he served as conductor of the Kirkwood Symphony Orchestra for nineteen seasons and as associate conductor of the Kammergild Chamber Orchestra. He has appeared frequently as a guest conductor and clinician for band and orchestra festivals throughout the United States, including numerous guest appearances with the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra Discovery Series. In June, 2009, Dr. Richards conducted the New York premiere of the music theatre work, Booth! by Harbach, Coker, and Yordy, at NYU’s Skirball Theatre.

Dr. Richards is currently President of the Missouri Association of Departments and School of Music (MADSM). He also has served the American String Teachers Association at the state and national levels in a variety of capacities and is immediate past-President of the Missouri Chapter of the ASTA. He has been a reviewer of new string literature for the American String Teacher Journal and served for three years as national chair of the ASTA Merle J. Isaac Composition Competition.

As a violinist, Dr. Richards has performed with a variety of professional ensembles including the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra, Memphis Symphony Orchestra, Illinois Symphony Orchestra, the Kammergild Chamber Orchestra, the Fox Theatre Orchestra, the Dance St. Louis Orchestra, the St. Louis MUNY Orchestra, and the Landolfi String Quartet. In 1999, Dr. Richards received a University of Missouri Research Board Grant to study Baroque violin performance at the Oberlin Baroque Performance Institute. Dr. Richards has been the recipient of the St. Louis Suburban Music Educator's Association's Merit Award "in recognition of significant contributions for the advancement of music education," the Artist/Teacher of the Year Award from the MoASTA, and the Faculty Excellence Award from the College of Fine Arts and Communication.

Alberta Breckinridge

Alberta Breckinridge is the Manager of Business/Fiscal Operations Specialist for the College of Fine Arts & Communication. She received her MA in Accounting and Master of Business Administration from Fontbonne University and her Bachelor of Science, Business Administration from Southeast Missouri State University.

Prior to her employment with the University of Missouri-St. Louis, Alberta was employed for 22 years by Washington University as the Accounting Manager,
Operations Manager and Acting Director for the Campus Stores, as well as three
years as the Controller for a telecommunications corporation. She is currently
pursuing certification as a Certified Management Accountant.

Elizabeth Kurila
Director of Development
College of Fine Arts and Communication
Touhill Performing Arts Center
Work Phone: 314–516–6105
Work Fax:314–516–4522
Work E-mail: kurilae@umsl.edu

Elizabeth came to the University of Missouri – St. Louis as an established marketing professional and an experienced fund raising volunteer. Prior to UM-St. Louis, she was the Director of Operations at Suttle Mindlin Architects, an international design firm in St. Louis, where she also served the director
of marketing and communications.

Elizabeth spent twelve years as a sales/marketing professional with Fortune 500 companies including Xerox Corporation and Herman Miller.As an active volunteer, she participated in many fund raising campaigns for local non-profit organizations.

She has been working in the Advancement Office with the College of Business Administration so she is already well-acclimated to UM-St. Louis and has hit the ground running for our College. Her energy and leadership are invaluable when connecting with alumni and community stakeholders.

Elizabeth earned her Marketing Degree from the Miami University in Oxford, Ohio and her Masters in Public Policy Administration from the University of Missouri–St. Louis. She lives in Webster Groves with her husband and two children.

In May of this year Linda began working at the university as a senior academic advisor. She spent 6 ½ years as an Academic Counselor at Oklahoma City Community College. While there she also taught Psychology and Medical Terminology as an adjunct instructor. Before completing undergraduate and graduate programs at the Ohio State University, Linda worked as a Registered Nurse for almost two decades.

Linda’s academic history includes an Associate of Applied Science Degree in Nursing from Belleville Area College, now Southwestern Illinois College, and a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and a Master of Arts in Cognitive Psychology from Ohio State University.

Having been a nontraditional student and an instructor, Linda understands the special needs of adults returning to school and brings a unique viewpoint to the advising setting. She sees advising as a forum for teaching students how to create a plan for completing their degree, while improving academic, decision-making, and time management skills, which will carry over into the workplace.

Katie Matsumoto
Assistant to the Dean
CoFAC

Phone: (314) 516-4570
email:  Katie_Matsumoto@umsl.edu

Katie Matsumoto is Assistant to the Dean in the College of Fine Arts and Communication. She came to the University of Missouri – St. Louis in 1997 to work in the Music department.  She has been in the Dean’s Office since the founding of  the College in 2001.  As Assistant to the Dean, Katie also serves as office manager and coordinates special events for the College. 

Prior to working for the University, Katie was the Office Manager for DNI Properties. For almost 14 years, she was employed by the St. Louis Community College from 1981 – 1995, working for the Assistant Director of Admissions and then as Assistant to the Board of Trustee’s in the Chancellor’s Office.

Linda Aubuchon is the Office Assistant in the College of
Fine Arts and Communication.  She came to us from the Federal Reserve Bank, where for 7 years she worked in
ever increasingly responsible positions in the Community Affairs department, Human Resource department, and the Treasury Relations and System Support department.

Prior to working at the Fed, Linda  took time away from work in 1986 to stay home with her adopted son, returning to work in 1991, where she worked in the office at her son’s school.  She then moved to Midwest BankCentre in 1993 as a loan processor and then an administrative assistant in the consumer lending area. In her early years of employment, Linda was employed by Commerce Bank for 17 years.