Conway was known for her autobiographies, in particular her first memoir, "The Road from Coorain". She was also Smith College's first female president, from 1975 to 1985, and served as a visiting professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. In 2004 she was designated a Women's History Month Honoree by the National Women's History Project. In 2013, she received a 2012 National Humanities Medal from President Barack Obama.