McGinnis Named MPAS Program Director
October 2025 - The College of Health and Human Services at UNC Wilmington has named James P. McGinnis, Ed.D., MPAS, PA-C as the founding program director of its developing Master of Physician Assistant Studies (MPAS) program. McGinnis will assume the role in early November.
The UNC Board of Governors has authorized UNCW to offer the MPAS program. McGinnis will oversee the planning, assessment, faculty hiring, and curriculum development of the MPAS program as well as the accreditation process by the Accreditation Review Commission on Education for the Physician Assistant.
“We are incredibly excited Dr. McGinnis has joined the College in creating a physician assistant studies program,” College of Health and Human Services Dean Jack Watson said. “He brings an extraordinary depth of experience in clinical practice, leadership, and education. His distinguished career in both military and civilian sectors, combined with his commitment to resilience-centered leadership, makes him uniquely qualified to lead the development of this vital program. Under his guidance, we are confident the MPAS program will prepare future physician assistants to thrive in today’s complex healthcare environments.”
McGinnis arrives at UNCW with more than 30 years of experience in both the military and civilian sector as an industry expert, thought leader, and speaker in resilience and positive team dynamics within organizations that operate in complex, high-stress and high-stakes domains.
As former detachment medic with the United States Army Special Forces, an emergency medicine physician assistant and former Special Operations Medical Officer with the United States Special Operations Command, McGinnis has built and led teams that both conducted and supported high-risk/high-stakes missions. After retiring from the military, he served as the program director for Health Intervention and Disaster Response at The George Washington University and as the senior physician assistant leading advanced practice providers for Johns Hopkins Emergency Medical Services. He most recently served as associate program director and clinical associate professor in the physician assistant studies program at Towson University.
McGinnis also developed Resilience-Centered Leadership© as a framework for creating organizations and teams that can thrive in a high stress/high stakes operational environment.
McGinnis earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Oklahoma, a Master of Physician Assistant Studies from the University of Nebraska, and his Ed.D. degree in human and organizational learning from The George Washington University.
The UNC Board of Governors has authorized UNCW to offer the MPAS program. McGinnis will oversee the planning, assessment, faculty hiring, and curriculum development of the MPAS program as well as the accreditation process by the Accreditation Review Commission on Education for the Physician Assistant.
“We are incredibly excited Dr. McGinnis has joined the College in creating a physician assistant studies program,” College of Health and Human Services Dean Jack Watson said. “He brings an extraordinary depth of experience in clinical practice, leadership, and education. His distinguished career in both military and civilian sectors, combined with his commitment to resilience-centered leadership, makes him uniquely qualified to lead the development of this vital program. Under his guidance, we are confident the MPAS program will prepare future physician assistants to thrive in today’s complex healthcare environments.”
McGinnis arrives at UNCW with more than 30 years of experience in both the military and civilian sector as an industry expert, thought leader, and speaker in resilience and positive team dynamics within organizations that operate in complex, high-stress and high-stakes domains.
As former detachment medic with the United States Army Special Forces, an emergency medicine physician assistant and former Special Operations Medical Officer with the United States Special Operations Command, McGinnis has built and led teams that both conducted and supported high-risk/high-stakes missions. After retiring from the military, he served as the program director for Health Intervention and Disaster Response at The George Washington University and as the senior physician assistant leading advanced practice providers for Johns Hopkins Emergency Medical Services. He most recently served as associate program director and clinical associate professor in the physician assistant studies program at Towson University.
McGinnis also developed Resilience-Centered Leadership© as a framework for creating organizations and teams that can thrive in a high stress/high stakes operational environment.
McGinnis earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Oklahoma, a Master of Physician Assistant Studies from the University of Nebraska, and his Ed.D. degree in human and organizational learning from The George Washington University.
This article has the following tags: College of Health & Human Services Academics