John Hylton came to the University of Missouri-St. Louis in 1980 as an Assistant Professor of Music and was subsequently promoted to Associate Professor with Tenure (1986) and Professor (1995). He 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, Hylton was the Chair of the University of Missouri-St. Louis Department of Music and Director of Fine Arts Outreach for the campus. He also served the campus as Associate Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs (Interim), from 2000-2002.  He was appointed the Founding Dean of the College of Fine Arts and Communication in 2002, serving in that capacity until 2010. Upon his retirement in 2012, following a thirty-two year career at the University of Missouri-St. Louis, Hylton was appointed Professor of Music Emeritus, and Dean Emeritus of the College of Fine Arts and Communication.

John Hylton is the author of articles, papers, a book chapter, and reviews that have been published in 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, the College Music Symposium, the Bulletin of the Council for Research in Music Education, and Music Education Research International (Online). He is the author of a textbook published by Prentice-Hall/Pearson Publishing, entitled Comprehensive Choral Music Education. Hylton has been the editor of the Missouri-ACDA Reporter, newsletter of the Missouri Choral Directors Association; editor of the Missouri Journal of Research in Music Education; and he has served on the editorial board of Update: Applications of Music Education Research, published by MENC, the National Association for Music Education.