Ann Arbor — University of Michigan Regent Jordan Acker apologized for “a situation” that he said caused the university distraction, disappointment and pain over the last two months during Thursday afternoon’s board meeting.
Acker did not specifically say what he was apologizing for, but in April the university opened an investigation into comments Acker purportedly made in a Slack group chat. In those messages, he appeared to make obscene sexual comments about a Democratic strategist and lewd comments about a female UM student.
“I’m sorry to my colleagues on this board, I’m sorry to our students, our faculty, our staff, our alumni and everyone who cares deeply about this university,” Acker said. “Today is about accountability. … Regardless of legal outcomes, regardless of investigations, regardless of what anyone else concludes, I know that I failed my own standards.”
Acker said he would be “redoubling” his efforts serving as a regent. He said he understood some might not be happy with his decision to remain on the board to finish the last six months of his term.
“I believe that when we fail, our responsibility is not always to disappear,” said Acker, a Huntington Woods Democrat. “Sometimes, our responsibility is to acknowledge our failure, accept the consequences, learn from them, and continue doing the work we were elected to do.”
Regents Denise Ilitch and Paul Brown, fellow Democrats, thanked Acker for his apology.
What Acker said initially about the controversial messages
Acker told The Detroit News in April, after the allegations were first reported by The Guardian, that they were “ridiculous” and “fake.” Acker’s attorney, Ethan Holtz, said in a statement that Acker “has never been on Slack” and that the messages contained elements that appeared to be “doctored.”
The Guardian’s story ran two days before the Michigan Democratic Party’s nominating convention, where the delegates refused to put Acker up for reelection and chose Arab-American attorney Amir Makled of Dearborn and the other incumbent, Regent Brown.
The university’s Senate Advisory Committee on University Affairs said in April the messages were “disgusting,” a “violation of trust and professional standards” and “unbecoming of the position.” The committee said if the allegations were true, Acker should resign immediately.
Faculty Senate President Derek Peterson said he and other faculty were most struck by the comments purportedly made by Acker about a UM student. In one of the messages, he said he’d been contacted by a parent who said their child had contracted a urinary tract infection.
“Maybe he doesn’t realize that his daughter f—-, apparently a lot,” Acker wrote. The Guardian reported that this comment included a picture of the student and her friends.
This comment, seemingly made to “score points” among the others in the chat, was “profoundly dismaying” and went against what the regents were expected to do, Peterson said.
“His job is to advance the interest of the students,” Peterson said. “Instead, he’s knowingly damaging someone. … That’s what we find objectionable. … Students have the expectation of privacy, not to have their conduct discussed in a chat with people with no connection to the university.”
satwood@detroitnews.com
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Acker apologizes to University of Michigan for causing unspecified pain
Reporting by Sarah Atwood, The Detroit News / The Detroit News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Sarah Atwood, The Detroit News | USA TODAY Network
