For the record

Jennifer Haney Conover ’08 has built a career preserving the records that document the lives of Ohio residents — from birth certificates and marriage licenses to the historical archives of county government.

For her leadership in archives and records management, service to the public history profession and support of Wright State University, she received the 2026 School of Graduate Studies Outstanding Alumna Award.

Conover, who earned a Master of Arts in Public History from Wright State, said the university shaped both her career and her life.

“Wright State has influenced my career and my life in so many different ways,” she said. “I was able to land jobs directly because of my schooling at Wright State. They appreciated not just that I had a public history degree, but that I also went to Wright State.”

In 2025, Conover was appointed director of records and archives for Greene County, where she oversees the preservation and management of records that are essential to county government and its residents. The position is especially meaningful because it allows her to serve the community she has called home since attending graduate school at Wright State.

“A lot of what I do is write the records retention schedules that departments use,” she said. “The records retention schedules for the county are essentially the bible of how long you have to keep your records.”

Before joining Greene County, Conover served for 12 years as director of records management and archives for Warren County. There, she launched an educational outreach program that introduced more than 12,000 students in grades three through eight to the history of county government. She also led the digitization and indexing of more than 10 million documents and made more than 120,000 historic public records searchable online.

Conover’s path to archives began while she was an undergraduate history major at Miami University. Initially interested in museum work, she discovered her passion during archival internships and was encouraged to pursue graduate study in public history at Wright State.

“Once I did a little bit of research, I realized how world-renowned it was,” she said of Wright State’s public history program. “Some of the most incredible individuals who work in this field have come from Wright State.”

2008 public history grad Jennifer Haney Conover was honored as the School of Graduate Studies Outstanding Alumna for her distinguished career in archives and records management and her longstanding mentorship and support of Wright State students. (Photo by Erin Pence)

At Wright State, Conover studied with faculty mentors including Marjorie McClellan and Jacob Dorn, who helped shape her professional development and opened doors to internships and career opportunities. She also formed lasting friendships with fellow graduate students and built a professional network that continues to support her nearly two decades later.

Conover has remained connected to Wright State since graduating. Since 2013, she has provided internships for undergraduate and graduate students, mentored public history students, guest-lectured in graduate classes and served on the newly established Public History Advisory Board.

Her service extends well beyond campus. Conover is chair of the Ohio County Archivists and Records Managers Association and former president of the National Association of Government Archives and Records Administrators.

“I think for me it’s just gratitude to even be considered,” she said of receiving the Graduate School Outstanding Alumnus Award. “I’d looked at some of the previous nominees and realized that I’ve got some really big shoes to fill. I’m humbled but also very, very appreciative and gracious.”

Conover said her Wright State degree represents one word: resilience.

“The biggest thing is resilience and strength,” she said.