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Howell Wayne Todd (born October 21, 1943) is an American educator and university administrator. He served as the 18th President of Mississippi College from 1994 to 2001 and as the Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer of the South Dakota Board of Regents from 1989 to 1994. In 2018, he was elected mayor of Clarksburg, Tennessee.^[1]

Todd was born on October 21, 1943, in Huntingdon, Carroll County, Tennessee. He graduated as valedictorian of Clarksburg High School in 1960. He attended the University of Tennessee at Martin, graduating in 1965 with a Bachelor of Science in Secondary Education, Mathematics, and Chemistry. During his undergraduate studies, he received the Martin Lions Club Award for the male graduate with the highest academic average.  He is a charter member and past president of the Zeta Pi chapter of Alpha Tau Omega social fraternity.

Todd continued his education at the University of Mississippi, earning a Master of Science in Mathematics in 1968. In 1972, he earned a Ph.D. in Mathematics Education from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Todd began his career as a faculty member in chemistry at the University of Tennessee at Martin (1965–1966), then taught mathematics for one year at Dyersburg High School. From 1967 to 1970, he served as a faculty member in the Department of Mathematics at the University of Mississippi.

In 1972, Todd joined the Tennessee Department of Education as the Director of Research, Planning, and Evaluation. While with the department, he was the executive director of the Tennessee General Assembly’s Joint Legislative Committee on School Finance, responsible for a comprehensive revision in the state’s K-12 funding formula. From 1977 to 1981, he was the Executive Director of the Governmental Reorganization Commission of the Tennessee General Assembly.

From 1981 to 1989, Todd served as the Vice Chancellor for Administration and Executive Assistant to the Chancellor for the Tennessee Board of Regents. At the time, this was one of the nation's largest higher education systems, overseeing 46 institutions and a budget exceeding $875 million.

While in Tennessee, he also held adjunct professor roles at Vanderbilt University (1984–1986) and Trevecca University (1983–1985).

In 1989, Todd was appointed Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director of the South Dakota Board of Regents.He managed the constitutional board responsible for the state's public higher education system, including land-grant and research universities, medical and law schools, and special schools for the hearing and visually impaired. During his five-year tenure, he served as the Principal Investigator for a $7.5 million National Science Foundation grant to improve K-12 and graduate-level mathematics and science education.

Todd was named President of Mississippi College in 1994. Founded in 1826, the college is the oldest and largest private institution in Mississippi and is affiliated with the Mississippi Baptist Convention. As the chief executive officer, Todd oversaw a university comprising several schools, including Law, Nursing, Business, and Education. During his administration, the university maintained an annual budget of $65 million and an enrollment of approximately 5,000 students. He retired from the presidency on July 1, 2001.

Following his retirement from Mississippi College, Todd served as an executive search consultant for Greenwood/Asher from 2004 to 2009, focusing on the recruitment of university presidents and provosts.

In 2018, he was elected Mayor of Clarksburg, Tennessee, and was re-elected in 2022.^[1] His post-retirement activities also include serving on the Board of Directors for Baptist Health Sciences University in Memphis, the board of trustees of Bethel University in McKenzie, and as a member of the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE) Public Interest Panel.^[2] He chairs the Indigent Care Board for Baptist Hospital in Huntingdon.^[3]

• Outstanding Student in Education Award, University of Tennessee at Martin (1964).
• Southern Regional Education Board (SREB): Appointed to a four-year term by Mississippi Governor Kirk Fordice.
• Mississippi Foundation for Independent Colleges: Chairman (1999–2001).
• Honor Societies: Member of Phi Kappa Phi and Pi Mu Epsilon.