Joann Choi Messina is an Associate Teaching Professor and Assistant Director of Business & Technical Writing in the Department of English Writing Program at Rutgers-New Brunswick. Professor Messina is recognized for her work in curriculum and faculty development. She is deeply invested in creating meaningful opportunities for NTT faculty and their students.
At Rutgers she trains, supervises, and mentors new and experienced faculty members to teach scientific, business, grant, and legal writing courses. She teaches courses in scientific and technical writing, business writing, and advanced research and writing.
Prior to joining Rutgers in 2009, she was an attorney and managed the Securities Law Group at Bloomberg LP. She worked with computer programmers, data analysts, and other attorneys to develop the first iteration of Bloomberg Law (BLAW) to directly compete with LexisNexis and Westlaw.
Prof. Messina also served as the Rutgers Future Scholars Program Internship Coordinator for eight years. She negotiated and managed meaningful internship experiences at Rutgers and in the surrounding area for 120 rising high school juniors from underrepresented communities each summer. She also helped design and taught a Workplace Communications course for Rutgers Future Scholars.
She won the Rutgers University Libraries Open and Affordable Textbooks Award in Spring of 2023 for leading an open access project to eradicate costly textbooks from business and technical writing courses. This OAT initiative enabled faculty to integrate free, useful, and current high-quality resources into their courses as a matter of equity and inclusion. This initiative saved approximately 1,560 Rutgers undergraduate students $156,000 per year.
Prof. Messina recently served as a pilot participant in the Rutgers Identity and Leadership Program in Spring 2024. She also served as a panelist for Supporting NTT Faculty Success, which was sponsored by the Center for Faculty Success. She is passionate about creating a greater sense of belonging and enhancing recognition for the valuable contributions of NTT faculty at Rutgers University.