For many years, McGinnis has collaborated with ME faculty in research and education projects and has served on the committees of MS and PhD students. This appointment now enables him to supervise ME students directly, and recognizes his contributions to the George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering.

McGinnis is a leader in interdisciplinary education efforts. He serves as the Director of the Manufacturing Logistics Center of Focused Research within the Georgia Tech Supply Chain & Logistics Institute. He is also the founding Director of the Keck Virtual Factory Lab, serves as Associate Director of the Manufacturing Research Center (MARC), and Research Director of the Tennenbaum Institute. In his administrative duties, he oversees the integration of computer modeling techniques with manufacturing technologies. McGinnis also teaches a "Systems Modeling with SysML" course jointly with Chris Paredis, Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering, that introduces a model-driven approach to systems engineering.