College of Fine Arts and Design

July 20, 2012

John Clinton, Ph.D., dean of the University of Central Oklahoma's College of Fine Arts and Design, was recently inducted into East Central University's (ECU) Gene and Evelyn Keefer Educators Hall of Fame.           

Clinton, an Ada native, was one of three ECU graduates to be inducted into the Educators Hall of Fame this year.           

Clinton has been dean of UCO's College of Fine Arts and Design since 2006, and served as the founding executive director of the Oklahoma Center for Arts Education (OCAE) at Central prior to his appointment as the dean.  He is also the conductor of the Oklahoma Youth Orchestra, a position he has held since 1992.           

A graduate of ECU, Clinton also earned a Master of Music in Education from the University of Oklahoma and completed his Ph.D. in Music Education at the University of North Texas with emphases in orchestral conducting, string pedagogy and sociology.           

Clinton has received numerous professional honors including the University of Oklahoma School of Music Distinguished Alumni Fellow, ASTA Oklahoma String Teacher of the Year, Governor's Arts Award for Arts and Education, and the Oklahoma Music Educators Association "Administrator of the Year," among many others.           

The Educators Hall of Fame was developed to recognize ECU-prepared educators who have made significant contributions to the field of education.  Janice Diamond and Paul Keefer, children of Gene and Evelyn Keefer, sponsor the Educators Hall of Fame.           

The ECU Educators Hall of Fame is dedicated to the Keefers and other parents like them who could not afford to go to college, but who made it a priority that their children have that opportunity.