Jordan Acker
American lawyer, consultant, and politician
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jordan Benjamin Acker[1] (born October 1984)[2][3] is an American lawyer, consultant, and politician serving as a Regent of the University of Michigan since 2019. A member of the Democratic Party, Acker formerly served as an attorney in the Obama administration.[4] He is also an equity partner at Goodman Acker, a personal injury law firm based in Southfield, Michigan,[5] where he practices law and is responsible for the firm's development.[citation needed]
American University (JD)
Jordan Acker | |
|---|---|
| Personal details | |
| Born | Jordan Benjamin Acker 1983 or 1984 (age 41–42) |
| Party | Democratic |
| Education | University of Michigan (BA) American University (JD) |
Early life and education
Acker's father, Gerald Acker, is currently the U.S. co-chair of the International Joint Commission.[6]
Acker attended the University of Michigan graduating in 2006. After a stint working in the U.S. Congress as a communications aide to Rep. John Conyers (D-Detroit), he attended law school at American University in Washington, DC, graduating in 2010.[7]
Career
Following law school, Acker was hired as an associate in the Office of Presidential Personnel at the White House during the Obama administration. He was later appointed to serve as an attorney-advisor in the Department of Homeland Security to Secretary Janet Napolitano and Deputy Secretary Jane Lute.[4]
In 2014, he returned to Michigan and began his career at Goodman Acker becoming responsible for business development and expansion while being a practicing lawyer.[4] In 2018, he became a partner at the firm.[8]
University of Michigan Board of Regents
Jordan ran for the University of Michigan Board of Regents in the 2018 election and was elected statewide with 1.75 million votes becoming the first millennial to serve on the board while winning first place overall and unseating a 24-year Republican incumbent.[9]
Since his election, he has been noted for his "extremely online" approach to university governance and transparency, including through an active account on X.[10] In 2020, he was named to Crain's Detroit Business's "40 under 40" list.[11] Acker became chairman of the Board of Regents on July 3, 2021 for the 2021-2022 academic year.[12] He concluded his term as chairman in June 2022, when the chair rotated to fellow regent Paul W. Brown, garnering praise for his leadership during a tumultuous term.[13]
Acker has participated in discussions around name, image, and likeness (NIL) policies in student athlete compensation.[14] He is a vocal critic of the proposed Big Ten Conference private investment deal.[15]
Acker is a prominent supporter of Israel in the Gaza war, and opposes the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement,[16][17] a controversial issue which has been the subject of protests at the University of Michigan.[18] In Spring 2024, Acker was part of an effort by the board that brought in Michigan attorney general Dana Nessel to prosecute student protestors when the local prosecutor, like other prosecutors responsible for college campuses in Michigan, declined to bring charge against most student protestors.[19][20] While on the board, the university authorized an undercover surveillance program against the student protestors.[19][21] In June 2024, protestors vandalized the offices of Goodman Acker,[22][23] and in December 2024, Acker's home, with pro-Palestinian and anti-Israel slogans, in incidents condemned as antisemitic and investigated as hate crimes.[16][23][24][25]
While on the board, Acker led the university in ending its diversity, equity, and inclusion practices amid funding threats by the education policy of the second Trump administration.[19] In November 2025, fellow Democrat Sean Rositano, of Detroit, accused Acker of acting in accordance with the agenda of the Trump administration on DEI, Michigan Medicine's discontinuation of gender-affirming care for minors, and the university's response to pro-Palestinian protests.[26] Acker was also challenged by Amir Makled, a left-wing criminal defense lawyer who had represented some of the pro-Palestinian protesters and is backed by the school's graduate student unions and the United Auto Workers.[19]
An April 2026 investigation by The Guardian found that in 2020-21, while serving as a regent, Acker made sexual comments about a female Democratic party strategist as well as a female UMich student in a Slack group chat. The comments were made from an account with Acker's name, tied to Acker's personal Gmail account and corroborated by six participants in the chat. Acker's attorney questioned the authenticity of the messages and said that it was "not correct or incorrect" that Acker was denying writing the messages.[19]
In a later statement, Acker's attorney claimed that the messages were fabricated and contained "facts and elements that did not even exist at the time [the messages] were supposedly written." The statement also alleged that The Guardian failed to properly investigate these messages, further accusing the source that shared these messages of having waged "a campaign of harassment and defamation against Mr. Acker" for more than a year.[27]
The University of Michigan opened an investigation into these Slack messages on April 21, with an outside firm in New York hired to handle the case.[28][29]
Personal life
In 2012, he married Lauren Fell in a ceremony performed inside the Lincoln Park Zoo.[1] The couple were named "Detroiters to Watch" in 2015.[30] They have three daughters.[7]
Acker is known as an avid fan of the University of Michigan's athletic teams.[12]