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University of Michigan Hires Outside Firm to Investigate Regent Jordan Acker Over Alleged Lewd Slack Messages

The outside review deepens scrutiny of a regent who lost his party’s renomination after reports that he posted sexual remarks about a strategist and a student.

Overview

  • U-M retained New York-based Patterson Belknap to run an independent review of posts attributed to Acker in a public Slack channel, and shared a tip line for information.
  • The university had already opened a case Tuesday after Regents Mark Bernstein and Michael Behm reported the matter and urged a thorough, fair, and swift inquiry.
  • SACUA, the faculty senate’s executive committee, said the reported posts lewdly speculated about a student’s sex life and urged Acker to resign if the claims are verified.
  • Acker, through his attorney, denies ever using Slack, while X user Jeff Moss says he supplied the messages to The Guardian and will show investigators documentation.
  • The Guardian’s report circulated at the Michigan Democratic Party’s endorsement convention over the weekend, and delegates declined to renominate Acker, keeping him off the November ballot.