Emory Report homepage  

June 22, 2009
Campaign Emory
Laneys’ legacy gift includes Emory family

By Maria Lameiras

Emory President Emeritus Jim Laney ’94H and his wife, Berta ’94H, have spent more than 40 years as an integral part of the University community. The Laneys recently renewed their commitment to Emory with a bequest that divides the value of their estate into six equal parts: one for each of their five children and one for Emory. A bequest is one way to support Campaign Emory, the University’s $1.6 billion fund-raising effort.

Three of the Laneys’ children and three grandchildren have graduated from Emory programs. Five more grandchildren are students at Emory, and the couple has eight younger grandchildren they hope may attend one day.

“Emory runs very deep in our family,” says Laney, who first came to Emory nearly 40 years ago as dean of Candler School of Theology. “Our gift is simply because we consider Emory a part of our family.”

The Laneys’ gift will support the Emory Advantage financial aid program for low- and middle-income students. Established in 2007, Emory Advantage is open to undergraduate students at Oxford College, Emory College of Arts and Sciences, Goizueta Business School, and the Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing. This newest gift is in addition to a charitable remainder trust the Laneys had already established in support of the Candler School of Theology.

Emory’s 17th president, Laney guided the University from 1977 to 1993. He led Emory to the world’s top tier of research universities and — believing that universities should be places of inspiration as well as instruction — made the ethical development of students a core element of his presidency.

“Jim and Berta Laney have left a profound and enduring legacy at Emory by their quarter-century of active teaching and leadership here,” says President Jim Wagner. “Their gracious intention to support Emory Advantage is a wonderful gift to future generations.”