During college, Yancy participated in civil rights organizations, earned several degrees, including a Ph.D. in political science, and completed the Fulbright Program.

She went on to teach at the School of Social Sciences at Georgia Institute of Technology, becoming the first African-American to become a tenured full professor.

[3] After graduating from the segregated Hatcher High School in 1960, Yancy matriculated to Johnson C. Smith University (JCSU) in Charlotte, North Carolina.

[5] In addition to these groups, she was a participant in the civil rights movement in North Carolina, attending protests in the area.

[3] From 1971-1972, Yancy served as director of the Afro-American Studies program at Barat College in Lake Forest, Illinois.

[11] Through her work, applications to JCSU increased,[10] and the United Negro College Fund Technology Initiative was able to lease laptops, computer servers, and hardware for the university through the IBM ThinkPad program.

[1] Yancy became the first female member of the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association board (CIAA) and served as its first woman president.

[1] Yancy retired from JCSU in 2008 and began to work with the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service as an arbitrator[8] and as a consultant in higher education.

[13] Yancy also worked at the Florida Public Employee Relations Commission as Special Master, being the first African American to serve in this position.

[15] In 2001, the U.S. Department of State honored Dr. Yancy for being an African American Fulbright Scholar Alumna, after she completed the exchange program in Singapore.