Schlesinger was elected a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in 1996[5] and served in a number of leadership positions for the organization.[2] She was the president of the American Society for Virology from 1992-1993.[2] She has an interest in the history of science and maintains a website with the support of the ASV documenting the history of molecular virology.[6] She has also served as an interviewer and oral historian on the same subjects, publishing long interviews with Herman Eisen[7] and Howard Schachman.[8]