Jo Handelsman, bacteriology and plant pathology, is among seven Wisconsin artists, writers, and scientists named a 2009 Fellow of the Wisconsin Academy of Arts and Sciences. Handelsman is recognized for her research in the structure and function of microbial communities. As a teacher and mentor, Handelsman has fostered the advancement of women in careers in microbiology, and is a strong advocate for advanced science education for all. Handelsman co-directs the Women in Science and Engineering Leadership Institute at the UW–Madison, which she founded with Molly Carnes, and directs the Wisconsin Program for Scientific Teaching. She also co-chairs the National Academies Summer Institutes on Undergraduate Teaching in Biology and serves on the National Academies Committee on Women in Academic Science and Engineering. Handelsman is the current president of the Rosalind Franklin Society, which fosters the contributions of women in the life sciences. She is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. In 2007, Handelsman became the first-ever woman Chair of the Department of Bacteriology at UW–Madison.