For his many years of advancing relations between Russia and the United States, Mike Yanney received the Woodrow Wilson Award for Corporate Citizenship at a banquet in Washington, D.C., on Nov. 30. The award is given by the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, the official memorial to our nation’s 28th president.
The prestigious award honors executives who, by their examples and their business practices, have shown a deep concern for the common good beyond the bottom line.
It is given to corporate leaders who have inherited Wilson’s commitment to scholarship, public discourse, and the promotion of knowledge both at home and abroad. Recipients are recognized for the unique, enlightened role they can play in improving society in general, while at the same time advancing the long-term interests of their firms, employees, and shareholders.
A longtime supporter of UNMC and the University of Nebraska, Yanney has been actively doing business with Russia for more than 30 years. His accomplishments include:
- Participating in early projects in Russian agriculture and telecommunications that led to a venture capital fund of more than $100 million in the 1990s;
- Working on projects such as the largest chicken production facility and largest glass bottling company in Russia;
- Developing the largest dairy in Kazakhstan;
- Supporting art exchanges between Russia and the U.S.; and
- Sustaining citizen-to-citizen contact by being a key participant in the Dartmouth Dialogues organization.
“There aren’t enough superlatives to describe how much respect I have for Mike Yanney,” said UNMC Chancellor Jeffrey P. Gold, M.D. “This is a huge award for him and demonstrates how highly he is thought of around the world. We are so fortunate to have a great business leader like Mike in our community. He usually shuns the limelight. It’s great to see him get the recognition he deserves.”
Yanney and his wife, Gail Walling-Yanney, M.D., served UNMC as campus co-chairs during the Campaign for Nebraska, the University of Nebraska’s most recent comprehensive campaign that raised $1.9 billion in donations, including $593.3 million in gifts for UNMC.
A Kearney, Neb., native, Yanney also has been involved with fundraising for the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and University of Nebraska at Omaha, and he provides counsel to the University of Nebraska at Kearney on its campus initiatives.
Congratulations Mike! Well deserved!