Regent Jordan Acker Faces Scrutiny Over Leaked Messages
Ann Arbor — The University of Michigan is opening an investigation into Regent Jordan Acker's alleged "disturbing" Slack messages about a student, according to officials announced on April 21.
The Senate Advisory Committee on University Affairs (SACUA) reviewed Acker's alleged sexual messages, as reported by The Guardian, and called the alleged conduct "disgusting" and "a violation of trust and professional standards."
The messages allegedly linked to Acker, a Southfield-based attorney serving his first term on the University of Michigan's Board of Regents, show that he allegedly made sexual comments about a party strategist in a group chat.
The Guardian reported that messages attributed to Acker also include lewd comments about a female U-M student and a picture of her with her friends.
Acker's lawyer provided a statement denying the authenticity of the alleged messages. Ethan Holtz said his client had never used Slack and had doubts about the authenticity of the alleged Slack screengrabs.
Acker's attorney responded to questions from The Guardian about whether Acker denied writing the messages by saying: "Your understanding that Mr Acker does not deny this is not correct or incorrect."
The Guardian reviewed a number of conversations over several years in the Slack group including the account bearing Acker's name, and cross-referenced an email linked to the Slack account under his name with his personal Gmail account.
Six people who were part of the Slack group confirmed that they saw the messages when they were sent.
Acker is being challenged by Amir Makled, a progressive defense attorney from Dearborn, Michigan, who represented some of the pro-Palestinian protesters who faced prosecution.
Makled told the Guardian the messages "are reprehensible, if they are true."
The race for the regents seats has become a local flashpoint in the broader battle over criticism of Israel on campuses.
Acker is known to be a confrontational, pro-Israel leader at the large public university. He is an attorney who helped recruit the Michigan attorney general to bring prosecutions against students, and, while he was on the board, it led a sprawling undercover surveillance operation against the students.
Acker has been endorsed by several high-profile Michigan politicians, including Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and State Sen. Mallory McMorrow.
Makled has endorsements from many of the school's graduate unions and the United Auto Workers.
The delegates votes are expected to be counted, and the state party is expected to make its endorsements, on Sunday evening.