Her tenure at Indiana University continued until her retirement in 1993, she received the title of Distinguished Professor Emeritus of History in recognition of her exceptional scholarly achievement.
[1] She made substantial contributions to scholarly literature, co-authoring or authoring 17 books that delved into the histories of Russia, the Balkans, and the Ottoman and Habsburg empires.
In 1944, she married Croatian-American[4] Charles Jelavich (1922–2013), one of America's foremost Balkan, Habsburg, and South Slavic specialists;[5] both engaged in multiple academic collaborations.
She also wrote a piece on the international position of Romania in 1848 that reflected the standpoints of the Habsburgs, Ottomans, Russians, and southeastern Europeans.
[8] Romanian historian Cornelia Bodea acknowledged Jelavich as an internationally "respected ruler in her territorial waters".
In 1995 the Barbara Jelavich Prize was established under the auspices of the AAASS,[9] in recognition of scholarship in 19th and 20th century southeastern European and Habsburg studies, as well as in Russian and Ottoman diplomatic history.