Missouri State University’s new dean overseeing science programs will bring important experience as new research doctorates are developed.
The university on Monday, May 18, announced that Magdalena Toda has been named the dean of the College of Natural and Applied Sciences, replacing the retiring Tamera Jahnke. Toda will start work at the position on July 1, earning an annual salary of $198,000.
Toda was chosen from a nationwide pool of 47 applicants. The university interviewed 10 semi-finalists, then invited three finalists on campus for more interviews.
Magdalena Toda
The hiring comes at an important time for MSU. University advocates, including attorney Tom Strong, had for years pressed for a change to state law that allows MSU to develop Ph.D. programs, and those supporters successfully made their case last year.
The expansion of research doctorates is a key part of the university’s strategic plan. The expansion and renovation of Blunt Hall positions some of those research doctorates to be in science programs.
Provost Clarenda Phillips said that Toda brings a wealth of related experience to the position. Toda is a professor of mathematics and statistics at Texas Tech University. She has 25 years of experience on all fronts of the research and development process.
“The ability to offer research doctorates is transformational for Missouri State, and Dr. Toda’s leadership will be important as we move forward,” Phillips said. “Her expertise in mentoring and supporting doctoral students will be a significant asset for the university.”
Toda’s experience includes serving as a program director and department chair in applied mathematics for the National Science Foundation.
As chair, she helped increase the department’s external funding from about $200,000 to more than $10 million, according to a press release from MSU. Graduate enrollment grew by almost 70%. She also guided revisions of doctoral, master’s and certificate programs at Texas Tech, and founded the Math Postdoctoral Scholar Program.
One of the key advantages to the Blunt Hall renovation is how it has returned multiple science programs under the same roof, increasing interdepartmental communication and collaboration. Toda’s talents for such collaboration were profiled by Texas Tech in 2024, in a project that used mathematics to connect nutrition and diabetes to Alzheimer’s disease.
Phillips also pointed out Toda’s dedication to mentorship. Toda said that her vision for leadership includes focusing entirely on students.
“Everything we do, from scientific discovery in the laboratory to mathematical research on paper or through computer-assisted methods, is ultimately done with students, for students and through students,” Toda said in the release. “Education and mentorship remain at the heart of meaningful research and innovation.”
Toda was named an Association for Women in Mathematics Fellow in 2025. She received the President’s Award for Excellence in Teaching at Texas Tech in 2008.
She has earned doctorates from the University of Kansas and Politehnica University of Bucharest. She also earned a master’s in mathematics from the University of Kansas, a master’s in health and wellness from American College of Healthcare Sciences and a bachelor’s in mathematics from the University of Bucharest.
Phillips said Toda’s breadth of experience made her the best fit for the position.
“As dean, Dr. Toda will draw on her history as a faculty member, researcher and administrator, along with her experience as a National Science Foundation program director,” Phillips said. “She is ideally suited to lead a college as vibrant, active and forward-looking as (the College of Natural and Applied Sciences).”
