Leadership Team

• R.D. Burck
    Chairman of the Board

  R.D. Burck has been our independent chairman of the board since August 2004. Mr. Burck retired from the position of chancellor of The University of Texas System in 2002. Mr. Burck joined the University of Texas System in 1988 to serve as the vice chancellor of business affairs and then as executive vice chancellor for business affairs before being appointed by the Board of Regents as interim chancellor in June 2000 and chancellor six months later in December 2000. Mr. Burck worked worldwide for Getty Oil Co., headquartered in Los Angeles, from 1955 to 1984. In 1979, he was involved in the creation and served as director, as well as vice president, of ESPN, the first cable TV sports network. Mr. Burck is chairman of MBST Holdings, LLC and Patton Medical Devices. He also serves on the advisory board of Frost Bank and is a member of the board of directors of Celo Data, Inc. In addition, Mr. Burck serves as a member of the board of trustees of the Headliners Club and is the chairman of the board of The Rise School of Austin. He is a lifetime member of The University of Texas Exes and serves on the Executive Committee of the University of Texas Chancellor’s Council. He also has been a member of the board of the Texas Department of Information Resources, the board of the Texas Life, Accident, Health and Hospital Service Insurance Guaranty Association, the formal advisory committee of the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, and the advisory council of the UT Austin College of Natural Sciences. Mr. Burck is a former director of the National Conference of Christians and Jews and a former member of the board of directors of the American Cancer Society. Mr. Burck graduated from The University of Texas at Austin with a B.B.A. He also attended the South Texas School of Law in Houston.  

• William C. Bayless, Jr.
  President, CEO

  William C. Bayless, Jr., our president and chief executive officer, is a co-founder of American Campus and serves on our board of directors. Prior to assuming the role of CEO in 2003, he served as our chief operating officer where he directed all of the company's business segments. From 1993 until July 1995, he served as our vice president of development. Prior to the formation of ACC, he served as the director of operations for Century Development's student housing division and as the director of marketing for the student housing division of Cardinal Industries. His student housing career began in 1984 with Allen & O'Hara where he held the positions of resident assistant, resident manager and area marketing coordinator. Mr. Bayless, who received a B.S. in Business Administration from West Virginia University, is considered one the nation's foremost experts on student housing.

• G. Steven Dawson
  

  Steven Dawson has served on our board of directors since August 2004. Primarily a private investor since 2003, he served as chief financial officer of Camden Property Trust (NYSE: CPT), a large multi-family REIT based in Houston, from 1990 to 2003. Mr. Dawson serves on the boards of Trustreet Properties, Inc. (NYSE: TSY), the largest restaurant REIT in the U.S.; Sunset Financial Resources, Inc. (NYSE: SFO), a mortgage REIT; AmREIT (AMEX: AMY), a retail property REIT; Desert Capital REIT, Inc., an unlisted public mortgage REIT; and Medical Properties Trust (NYSE: MPW), a hospital/healthcare REIT. He also serves on boards of various private charities and civic organizations and has other private interests. Mr. Dawson holds a degree in business from Texas A&M University, where he serves on the Real Estate Council of the Mays Graduate School of Business.

• Cydney Donnell
  

  Cydney Donnell has served on our board of directors since August 2004. She has been the director of real estate programs and an executive professor at the Mays Business School of Texas A&M University since March 2006, where she teaches in the finance department. Ms. Donnell was an executive professor at the Mays School from August 2004 until March 2006 and was a visiting lecturer from January 2004 until August 2004. Formerly a principal and managing director of European Investors/EII Realty Securities, Inc., she served in various capacities at EII and was chair of the investment committee from 2002 until 2003, head of the real estate securities group and portfolio manager from 1992 until 2002, and vice president and analyst from 1986 until 1992. Ms. Donnell served on the board of European Investors Holding Company from 1992 until 2005. Prior to joining EII, she was a real estate lending officer at RepublicBanc Corporation in Dallas from 1983 until 1986. Ms. Donnell currently serves on the board of directors of Madison Harbor Balanced Strategies, Inc., a closed-end investment fund registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940. She has served on the board and institutional advisory committee of the National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts (NAREIT) and in various leadership capacities for the Association of Former Students of Texas A&M University and the Junior League of the City of New York. Ms. Donnell received a B.B.A. from Texas A&M University and an M.B.A. from Southern Methodist University.

• Edward Lowenthal
  

  Edward Lowenthal has served on our board of directors since August 2004. Since April 2002, he has been president of Ackerman Management LLC. From 1997 until 2002, Mr. Lowenthal was a founder and served as president of Wellsford Real Properties, Inc. (AMEX: WRP). He continues to serve as Wellsford Real Properties, Inc.’s director. Mr. Lowenthal was a founder, trustee and president of Wellsford Residential Property Trust until May 1997 when it was merged into Equity Residential. Mr. Lowenthal has more than 30 years of real estate and merger and acquisition experience in both public and private entities. He serves as a trustee of Omega Healthcare Investors, Inc. (NYSE: OHI), a healthcare REIT; as a director of Ark Restaurants (NASDAQ: ARKR), an owner and operator of restaurants; and as a director of Desarrolladora Homex, S.A. de C.V., a vertically integrated home development company focused on affordable entry-level and middle-income housing in Mexico. A trustee of the Manhattan School of Music, he serves on its finance and executive committees and chairs its new building committee. From 1992 until 2000, he served as a member of the Board of Governors of NAREIT. Mr. Lowenthal received a B.A. from Case Western Reserve University and a J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center, where he was an editor of the Georgetown University Law Journal.

• Oliver Luck
  

  Oliver Luck has served on our board of directors since December 2012 and is currently the athletic director of West Virginia University since 2010. From 2006 to 2010, Mr. Luck was the president/general manager of the Houston Dynamo of Major League Soccer. From 2001 to 2005, Mr. Luck was the chief executive officer of the Harris County-Houston Sports Authority, where he oversaw the financing, construction and management of professional sports and entertainment infrastructure in Houston, including Minute Maid Park, Reliant Stadium and Toyota Center. Mr. Luck worked for the National Football League from 1990 to 2001, where served in a variety of positions, including vice president of business development and president and chief executive officer of NFL Europe. Mr. Luck played quarterback for the Houston Oilers from 1982 to 1986. He is currently a member of the National Football League Player Safety Advisory Panel and has served in various capacities in a number of university and community associations. He was a finalist to be a Rhodes Scholar, a National Football Foundation Scholar and a two-time Academic All-American who received a B.A. degree from West Virginia University and a J.D. degree from University of Texas School of Law.

• Winston Walker
  

  Winston W. Walker has served on our board of directors since August 2004. Since 1993, he has been president and chief executive officer of Walker & Associates, which provides strategic consultation primarily to clients in the healthcare and insurance industries. From 1987 until October 1993, Mr. Walker served as the chief executive officer of Provident Life and Accident Insurance Company of America. He is currently a member of the board of directors and the audit committee chair of CBL & Associates Properties, Inc. (NYSE: CBL), a shopping center REIT, and a member of the board of directors of MRI Medical, a private company. Mr. Walker received a B.A. in Russian from Tulane University and a Ph.D. in mathematics from the University of Georgia.

Executive Team

• William C. Bayless, Jr.
  President, CEO

  William C. Bayless, Jr., our president and chief executive officer, is a co-founder of American Campus and serves on our board of directors. Prior to assuming the role of CEO in 2003, he served as our chief operating officer where he directed all of the company's business segments. From 1993 until July 1995, he served as our vice president of development. Prior to the formation of ACC, he served as the director of operations for Century Development's student housing division and as the director of marketing for the student housing division of Cardinal Industries. His student housing career began in 1984 with Allen & O'Hara where he held the positions of resident assistant, resident manager and area marketing coordinator. Mr. Bayless, who received a B.S. in Business Administration from West Virginia University, is considered one the nation's foremost experts on student housing.

• Greg A. Dowell
  SEVP, COO

  Greg A. Dowell serves as our senior executive vice president and chief operating officer. In this capacity, he directs our management services division that oversees the operations of our student housing communities, and is responsible for corporate support functions that enhance the scalability of our operating platforms. Prior to being promoted to executive vice president in May 2005, he served as our senior vice president and chief of operations. From October 2001 until August 2004, he served as the senior vice president of management services. Before joining ACC, he spent 10 years in progressive capacities with Century Development where he began as an accountant and ultimately served as a senior vice president over the operations of their 29-property student housing portfolio. A certified public accountant, Mr. Dowell received a B.S. in Accounting from the University of Louisiana, Lafayette.

• Jonathan A. Graf
  EVP, CFO, Treasurer

  Jonathan A. Graf serves as our executive vice president, chief financial officer and treasurer. Previously, Mr. Graf held the position of senior vice president, chief accounting officer, and controller. Mr. Graf joined the company shortly after its IPO bringing more than 10 years of public company accounting, compliance and regulatory experience. Prior to joining ACC, he served as vice president and controller at Southern Union Company. From 1988 until 1994, he was an audit manager and information systems auditor at Ernst & Young LLP. Mr. Graf received a B.A. in Accounting from Texas A&M University and is a certified public accountant.

• James C. Hopke, Jr.
  EVP Project Management & Construction

  James C. Hopke, Jr. serves as our executive vice president of project management and construction where he provides oversight of the delivery of our owned and third-party development pipeline. Previously, Mr. Hopke served as chief investment officer where he oversaw the company’s acquisitions and development investments, and third-party business development services. Prior to rejoining ACC in May 2005, Mr. Hopke was vice president, asset management and advisory services, for Wachovia Securities’ Real Estate Capital Markets group. From February 2000 until November 2002, he served as our senior vice president of acquisitions. Before ACC, he held the position of vice president at JPI Development and Insignia Financial Group. A former MAI appraiser and member of the Appraisal Institute, Mr. Hopke received a B.S. in Administrative Management from Clemson University.

• Daniel Perry
  EVP Capital Markets

  Daniel Perry serves as our executive vice president of capital markets. He is responsible for development and implementation of capital market strategies, managing bank group relationships, sourcing capital for growth activities, and working with equity investors and research analysts. He joined ACC in February 2005 as vice president of investments and was promoted in 2007 to senior vice president of capital markets. Prior to joining ACC, Mr. Perry held positions in the investment banking division of Citigroup Global Markets where he assisted with the successful completion of American Campus' initial public offering in 2004. He also worked in the corporate finance divisions of BNP Paribas and Banc of America (formerly NationsBank). Mr. Perry holds a B.A. in Finance and Accounting from Texas A&M University and a M.B.A. from NYU’s Stern School of Business.

• William Talbot
  EVP, Chief Investment Officer 

  William Talbot serves as executive vice president of investments and oversees acquisitions, off-campus development and M&A activity, as well as asset management and dispositions. Mr.Talbot joined American Campus in August 2001 as director of acquisitions and has since served in increasing capacities, including director of asset management and vice president and senior vice president of investments. Prior to joining the company, Mr. Talbot was an acquisitions analyst for Lend Lease Real Estate Investments, Inc. from 1997 until 2001, where he was involved in acquisitions on behalf of pension fund clients. Mr. Talbot received a B.A. in Economics and Spanish from Vanderbilt University.

• James E. Wilhelm, III
  EVP Public Private Transactions

  James E. Wilhelm, III serves as our executive vice president of public/private transactions and spearheads the company's American Campus Equity (ACE) program. For more than a decade, Mr. Wilhelm has specialized in higher education and related non-profit finance, and since 2000, has originated more than $1.8 billion of debt and derivative transactions for more than 80 higher education institutions and non-profits. He has served as the investment banker for more than $350 million of ACC projects. Mr. Wilhelm joined ACC from RBC's public finance department where he served as the managing director of the higher education sector. Prior to RBC, he was a managing director with Bank One Capital Markets (currently JPMorgan Capital Markets) and held positions at McDonald & Company Securities (currently KeyBanc Capital Markets) and The Ohio Company (currently Fifth Third Markets). Mr. Wilhelm is a graduate of Miami University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Finance.

Senior Officers

• Jennifer Beese
  SVP Leasing Administration

  Jennifer Beese serves as our senior vice president of leasing administration. Ms. Beese joined ACC in November 1999 as regional manager and has contributed to the operational growth of the company in the positions of vice president of leasing administration, director of leasing administration and director of on-campus development. Ms. Beese was largely responsible for the initial concept, design and implementation of ACC’s proprietary leasing administration and marketing software system (LAMS). Prior to joining ACC, Ms. Beese began her career with JPI Development where she held various property management positions. Ms. Beese received a B.A. in History from Texas A&M University.

• Clint Braun
  SVP Construction Management

  Clint Braun serves as our senior vice president of construction management and oversees project development, design, scheduling, budgeting, procurement, construction and reporting for the company. Mr. Braun joined ACC in February 2000 as director of construction management, was promoted to vice president of construction management in February 2002, and assumed the role of SVP in September 2006. During his tenure with us, he has supervised the successful completion of over 6,500 beds and $380 million in development costs, including three LEED projects, on-time and within the approved budgets. Before joining ACC, Mr. Braun held various construction management positions with JPI (a private real estate developer) from 1996 to 2000. Mr. Braun received a B.S. in Construction Science from Texas A&M University.

• Steve Crawford
  SVP Management Services

  Steve Crawford serves as senior vice president of management services and previously held the position of vice president of management services. He joined ACC in October 1997 as a regional manager and has since served us in increasing capacities. Mr. Crawford began his career in student housing with Allen & O'Hara, Inc., where he held various student housing management positions from 1991 until 1997. Mr. Crawford received a B.A. from the University of California, Santa Barbara and a Masters of Public Administration from California State University, San Diego.

• Jorge de Cárdenas
  SVP and Chief Technology Officer 

  Jorge de Cárdenas serves as our senior vice president of information technology and joined ACC in January 2004 as vice president of IT. He currently serves as board president for The Austin School for the Performing and Visual Arts. Prior to joining American Campus, he served as director of product management for emerging technologies at Visa where he was responsible for defining product strategies and delivering application services to a global market. Mr. de Cárdenas began his career developing software for NASA at Lockheed Engineering and Science. He was also co-founder and principal consultant of Everest Technologies, Inc., an Oil & Gas IT consulting firm which was sold to SAIC, Inc. Mr. de Cárdenas received a B.S. in Computer Science with specializations in Mathematics and Management from Texas A&M University.

• Jennifer Jones
  SVP Development and Finance

  Jennifer Jones serves as senior vice president for development and finance holding primary responsibility for negotiating, financing and closing ACC’s on-campus development projects. Since joining ACC in July 2002, Ms. Jones has spearheaded the financial structuring process and successful closing for virtually all of ACC’s on-campus 501(c)3 transactions totaling more than $1.5 billion in development. Ms. Jones also has led in the structuring and closing of several of ACC’s American Campus Equity (ACE®) transactions. Ms. Jones worked for Texas Commerce Bank and JPMorgan Chase. Ms. Jones received her B.B.A. in finance from the University of Texas.

• Jake Newman
  SVP Development

  Jake Newman serves as senior vice president of development for ACC. In this capacity, he is responsible for all aspects of market selection, land procurement, entitlements, and development oversight for ACC’s development projects. This includes university relations, contract negotiation, consultant selection, design development, governmental agency relations and approvals, financial underwriting and contractor selection. Mr. Newman joined ACC in 2002 and has overseen the successful commencement and completion of roughly half a billion dollars in student housing developments – each completed on time and within budget. Prior to joining ACC, Mr. Newman began his career with JPI Development, holding several different positions during his four year tenure. Mr. Newman holds a business degree in construction management from the University of Louisiana at Monroe..

• James Sholders
  SVP Management Services

  James Sholders serves as senior vice president of management services. From June 2003 to 2005 he served as our vice president of management services, and joined ACC in 2001 as a regional manager. Mr. Sholders began his career in student housing in 1989 as a resident assistant with Allen and O'Hara, where he served in increasing capacities through 2001. Mr. Sholders received a B.S. in Secondary Education from West Virginia University and is a Certified Property Manager.

• Kim K. Voss
  SVP Controller

  Kim K. Voss serves as our senior vice president and controller and joined ACC in 2004 to help lead the company’s accounting department through our initial public offering and transition to a publicly traded company. She is responsible for all aspects of the company’s accounting and financial reporting functions, including SEC reporting, technical accounting, and Sarbanes-Oxley compliance. Prior to joining us, she was an assistant controller with AMB Property Corporation in San Francisco. She began her career as an auditor with Arthur Andersen LLP in San Francisco, where her client base consisted primarily of REITs and other real estate entities. A Certified Public Accountant, Ms. Voss holds Bachelor of Business Administration and Master in Professional Accounting degrees from the University of Texas at Austin. Ms. Voss is a member of Commercial Real Estate Women (CREW) and the Junior League of Austin.

• Ronald A. Weaver
  SVP Human Resources

  Ronald A. Weaver has served as senior vice president of human resources since March 2012. Mr. Weaver joined ACC in October 2007 serving as vice president of human resources. From 1978 to 2007 he held various human resource positions during his career, most recently with Southern Union Company based in Houston. Mr. Weaver received a B.S. in Secondary Education from Lock Haven University in Pennsylvania in 1978.

• Brian Winger
  SVP Transactions

  Brian Winger serves as our senior vice president-transactions. He joined ACC in March 2000 as director of on-campus development and has since served in increasing capacities. Prior to joining us, Mr. Winger was the chief operating officer with Aspen Gold Development Company (a private real estate developer). He also held the position of endowment development officer and ultimately served as general counsel for Oklahoma Christian University. Mr. Winger received a J.D. from Oklahoma City University and a B.S. in history/pre-law from Oklahoma Christian University and is a licensed attorney in Oklahoma.

• Jason Wills
  SVP On-Campus Development

  Jason Wills serves as our senior vice president of on-campus development. Prior to obtaining this position, he served as our senior vice president of marketing and development. Mr. Wills joined ACC in February 1997 as manager-marketing and leasing and has served us in increasing capacities. He began his career in student housing with Century Development, where he held the positions of resident assistant and marketing coordinator. Mr. Wills attended the University of Texas, Arlington, where he studied Journalism and Marketing.

• Victor Young
  SVP Project Management & Construction

  Victor Young serves as our senior vice president of project management and construction with a focus on the execution and delivery of projects under construction. Mr. Young joined ACC in January 2007 as vice president of construction management and was promoted to his current position in November 2007. Prior to joining ACC, he held a number of construction management positions at privately owned real estate development companies including JPI, The Hanover Company, and TCR. His background includes field supervision and project management of garden-style, urban high density, and high-rise multifamily projects. Mr. Young received a B.S. in Construction Management from Northeast Louisiana University (now ULM) in Monroe, La. in 1996.