Mike Yanney was just 11 years old and the youngest of nine children when his dad died in Kearney, Nebraska. His mother turned to raising and selling vegetables, so that became Mike’s first job — selling vegetables to the local grocery store. He also detasseled corn, shined shoes and walked along the railroad tracks, looking for coal that had fallen from trains so his mother could make a fire. He even worked as a disc jockey, though he said he was terrible at that. But he and his family made it through the Great Depression.
Yanney told the University of Nebraska Foundation he remembered happiness during his early years, and he knew money didn’t buy that. You’re going to be successful, his mother told him. But true success will be measured by what you give of yourself to your community and your country.
By that measure and many others, Mike Yanney, who died Feb. 14 at the age of 92, was truly successful.
His early years shaped a lifelong desire to give back. Yanney supported campuses across the University of Nebraska system — the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, University of Nebraska Medical Center, University of Nebraska at Omaha and University of Nebraska at Kearney. He served as a trusted adviser to numerous chancellors and university leaders, always ready to strategize how to further university projects.
“Mike Yanney cared deeply about family and community, and to him, the University of Nebraska was both,” said Dr. Jeffrey P. Gold, president of the NU system. “Over the years, he and his wife, Gail Walling Yanney, M.D., gave generously to the university, reflecting their profound care for those around them through support of initiatives that advance public health and enhance quality of life. Mike was equally generous with his time and ideas, always able to envision what was possible when passionate people came together. I was lucky to call him a friend, and I believe our state and our university are stronger because of his leadership, generosity and compassion.”
Mike and Gail Yanney made a leadership gift that led to the formation of the Healing Arts Program at the Fred and Pamela Buffett Cancer Center, which opened in 2017. Nebraska Medicine and UNMC named the facility’s Yanney Conference Room to honor the couple for their unwavering support of the project. He championed major capital projects at UNMC, including the Durham Research Towers, College of Public Health building, Munroe-Meyer Institute and Davis Global Center, lending advice, engaging the community and participating in fundraising initiatives.
Yanney was devoted to his wife, Gail. He established the Dr. Gail Walling Yanney Endowed Professorship in Anesthesiology and created a scholarship for College of Medicine students in her honor. A conference room holds her name in the Durham Research Tower on campus, and Mike also donated a Jun Kaneko sculpture for the front entrance of the Wigton Heritage Center in honor of Gail’s birthday.
In addition, the couple funded numerous scholarships and supported students through mentoring. The Yanneys also helped secure land for Ashfall Fossil Beds State Historical Park, which is part of the University of Nebraska State Museum.
“Mike Yanney’s generosity extended beyond campus buildings and programs — it reached the hearts and minds of countless students whose lives he touched,” Interim Chancellor Katherine S. Ankerson said. “Through scholarships, mentoring and his unwavering belief in education, he inspired generations of Huskers to dream bigger, work harder and give back to their communities. His legacy will be felt in the success of our students for decades to come.”
Yanney was a 1955 graduate of the Nebraska State Teachers College in Kearney, now UNK. In 1984, he founded what is now Burlington Capital, a company which manages public investment funds. He served as chairman emeritus.
Aside from his philanthropy, Yanney served the university by sharing his wisdom and business acumen.
He was a member of the University of Nebraska Foundation’s Board of Directors and a foundation trustee. Mike and Gail received the foundation’s Perry W. Branch Award for Distinguished Volunteer Service in 2016. He served on two comprehensive campaigns to benefit the university: Campaign for Nebraska, from 2005-2014, and Only in Nebraska: A Campaign for Our University’s Future, which began in 2018. Mike, along with Gail, was serving on the campaign executive committee for Only in Nebraska at the time of his passing. UNK granted him an honorary doctorate in 1988. He and Gail received the Regents Medal, the University of Nebraska’s highest award, in 2013.
