The Mississippi Senate has confirmed Roun S. McNeal, instructional assistant professor of criminal justice and legal studies, as a member of the board of directors of the Mississippi Prison Industries Corp. McNeal, who has been involved in prison ministry for 14 years, will help oversee a program that offers practical work experiences for adult offenders. Illustration by John McCustion/University Communications and Marketing
Roun McNeal brings prison ministry experience, passion for criminal justice reform
By Jordan Karnbach
The Mississippi Senate has added a University of Mississippi professor to the board of directors of the Mississippi Prison Industries Corp.
Roun S. McNeal, instructional assistant professor of criminal justice and legal studies, has been serving on the board since last year after Gov. Tate Reeves appointed him to fill a vacancy through a recess appointment. The Senate voted to approve McNeal for a full term through June 2028 on Tuesday, March 18, 2025.
The Ole Miss faculty member has been active in prison ministry and is passionate about criminal justice reform.
“The statutory requirement is that one of the members of the board be a representative of the faith-based community,” McNeal said. “Not everybody that may be appointed to this board would feel comfortable inside an institution. I’ve been doing prison ministry for 14 years.
“I just don’t get nervous walking in the gate anymore.”
That wasn’t always the case. McNeal remembers the first time he stepped foot in a prison in 2011 when he was 26 years old.
He can still recall his fear as he heard the loud, heavy doors of the South Mississippi Correctional Institute slam shut behind him. At the time, the SMCI was the state’s largest prison and one of the largest general population prisons in the country.
It was not until he met a prisoner who showed him kindness every day that McNeal began to shift his perspective.
“I felt like I had been called into this prison to minister to these folks, but it turned out that he was ministering to me,” McNeal said. “It was a little overwhelming, but eventually, I became much more comfortable there and excited about being a part of the change in someone else’s life.”
Mississippi has an incarceration rate of 1,020 per 100,000 people, including prisons, jails, immigration detention, and juvenile justice facilities. That means the state locks up a higher percentage of its people than any democratic country on earth, according to the Prison Policy Initiative.
The Mississippi Prison Industries Corp., known as MAGCOR, offers practical work experiences for adult offenders, giving them a chance to acquire valuable skills that contribute to long-term success and sustainability.
“The University of Mississippi is committed to impactful community engagement, and professor McNeal’s appointment underscores this commitment,” said Wes Jennings, UM chair of criminal justice and legal studies. “His role on MAGCOR’s board will enhance our university’s influence in the realm of criminal justice policy and workforce rehabilitation, ensuring that research and education translate into meaningful best practices in support of successful reentry.”
Many MAGCOR participants have secured good jobs and built stable homes and lives after their release, McNeal said. Telling their stories is a key initiative that McNeal looks forward to during his time on the board.
“A lot of industries and businesses that might be customers would be excited about buying from MAGCOR if they knew that they were supporting not just a business, but a business that is impacting people’s lives,” he said. “I don’t think that most people in Mississippi are ‘lock them up and throw away the key’ type folks.
“The majority of people in prison have made a mistake and have the capacity to change their lives, and I think most people would like to be a part of that.”
