CHARLOTTE, NC—Campus Crest Communities Inc. has announced a succession plan to replace its chief operating officer, Earl C. Howell, who will be retiring at the end of 2013. As of October 20, 2012, Robert Dann, EVP and division president for Campus Crest Real Estate Management and Campus Crest Development, will transition into the COO role. Howell, currently COO and president, will continue to serve as president until January 4, 2013 before moving into a transitional role as director of special projects until his retirement at the end of that year. A 25-year industry veteran experienced in strategic planning, portfolio and asset management and operational execution, Dann joined Campus Crest in April 2011. Prior to that, he was president of CSM Lodging LLC, a Minneapolis-based firm with a portfolio of 38 hotels, for six years. Before that, Dann was vice president of operations for Interstate Hotels & Resorts as well as an executive vice president with Boykin Management in Cleveland.

Meanwhile, in its Raleigh, NC office, the Preiss Co. has brought on Steven Lewis as Southeast regional manager. He will oversee the overall operations of six off-campus student housing properties plus one new development; create and implement all site budgets; evaluate daily marketing efforts; and adjust leasing rates based on market fluctuations or leasing velocity. Lewis has been involved in the student housing business for over a dozen years, working in 20 markets in 10 states. He joins the firm from American Campus Communities, where he served as a regional manager for eight properties and 70 employees. There, he helped to develop and implement budgets and marketing plans for all sites and worked with site staff to ensure that the properties’ fiscal needs were met and positive NOI growth was achieved while pushing rate growth. In his new role, Lewis will manage the operations of Preiss Co. properties including the Cambridge at Auburn, University Village at Auburn and University Heights at Auburn in Auburn, AL; University Village at Southern in Statesboro, GA; University Village at the Coast in Myrtle Beach, SC; and University Place in Rock Hill, SC.