Content warning: This article 
contains 
mentions 
of 
sexual 
misconduct
Peter Chen, professor of Electrical 
Engineering and Computer Science 
at the University of Michigan, has 
returned to teach at the University 
after a Washtenaw County jury 
found him not guilty of criminal 
sexual conduct.
University 
spokesperson 
Kim 
Broekhuizen wrote in an email 
to The Michigan Daily that Chen 
returned to teach Friday after 
having been on paid administrative 
leave since January 2021. 
“Following an acquittal on Dec. 

5, 2022 in Washtenaw County 
Circuit Court, Professor Chen will 
resume his duties as a professor in 
the division of Computer Science 
and 
Engineering 
on 
Jan. 
13,” 
Broekhuizen wrote. 
Chen faced trial in the Washtenaw 
County 22nd Circuit Court for one 
charge of criminal sexual conduct 
in the first degree and was found not 
guilty on Dec. 5, 2022. 
In an email to College of 
Engineering students obtained by 
The Michigan Daily, Engineering 
Dean Alec Gallimore said the U-M 
administration is in support of 
Chen’s return while recognizing 
that students may feel apprehensive 
about this change. 

Content warning: descriptions of 
physical and gender-based abuse.
In 
August 
2022, 
University 
of Michigan alum Sophie Zhang 
filed a complaint to the Equity, 
Civil Rights, & Title IX Office 
(ECRT). She alleged that her father, 
Youxue Zhang, a professor in the 
University’s Department of Earth 
and Environmental Sciences, abused 
her on the basis of her identity as a 
transgender woman.
In her complaint, Sophie described 
two instances in which Prof. Zhang 
engaged in abusive conduct toward 
her, with one occurrence on U-M 
property while Sophie was an 
undergraduate student. She argued 
that Prof. Zhang’s abuse constituted 
misconduct under U-M policy. 
Formal complaint filed with 
ECRT in August 2022. Obtained by 
The Daily.
Sophie’s complaint was dismissed 
two days later by Elizabeth Seney, 
ECRT’s director of sexual and 
gender-based misconduct and Title 
IX coordinator, according to emails 
obtained by The Michigan Daily. 
Seney stated that ECRT would not 
investigate the matter further.
A year prior, Sophie spoke of the 
abuse she faced as a transgender 
woman in an interview with the MIT 
Technology Review. Prof. Zhang 
denied the allegations against him at 
the time. His name was not revealed 
in the article. 
The article came out while Sophie 
was the subject of international 
media 
attention 
for 
exposing 
widespread usage of fake Facebook 
accounts by multiple countries’ 
governments in 2020.
In an interview with The Daily, 
Sophie alleged Prof. Zhang physically 
abused her when she was a child on 
the basis of her gender identity. She 
alleged that, in 2010, when she was 
an undergraduate student at the 
University, Prof. Zhang disowned 
her after she told him she intended to 
transition.
In an email to The Daily, Prof. 
Zhang admitted to engaging in 
physical abuse against Sophie in one 
instance in 2004 and disowning her 
in 2010. He denied that his actions 
were based on her gender identity.
“I admit that one time I did 
lose my temper and hit (Sophie) in 
2004, but not for (her) transgender 
identity,” Prof. Zhang wrote. “To all 
of my family, students, colleagues, 
and friends: I apologize that I let you 

down.”
Prof. Zhang said he was not 
contacted 
by 
ECRT 
or 
U-M 
administrators 
about 
Sophie’s 
complaint.
Prof. Zhang has taught at the 
University since September 1991, and 
has held a tenured position since May 
1997, according to records available 
on the University’s Board of Regents 
website. 
Speaking 
on 
behalf 
of 
the 
University, 
spokesperson 
Rick 
Fitzgerald explained that grievances 
between family members may not 
qualify as misconduct under U-M 
policy. He declined to comment on 
the specific allegations against Prof. 
Zhang.
“It is U-M policy to neither 
confirm nor deny the existence of 
an investigation into any form of 

misconduct,” Fitzgerald wrote. “A 
matter involving family members 
may or may not fall within the scope 
of the university’s policy. If a matter 
arises solely in the context of family 
interactions, the university does not 
have much ability to address the 
matter under U-M policy.”
‘I was panicked and terrified … 
looking for an escape’
Sophie’s family moved to Ann 
Arbor when she was a few months 
old. In an interview with The Daily, 
she described how she questioned 
her gender identity from a young age.
“I was 5 or 6 at the time,” Sophie 
said, “For me, it was basically 
something I always knew in the back 
of my head.”
As Sophie continued to discover 

her gender identity, she feared what 
might happen if her father found out.
“I knew from the start … that 
(Prof. Zhang) would react violently 
and angrily if he found out,” Sophie 
said. “And he did find out when I was 
13.”
One night, in the spring of 2004, 
when Sophie was in eighth grade, her 
father found out she was transgender. 
She said she felt threatened, and 
locked herself in the bathroom out 
of fear.
While her father allegedly tried to 
force his way in, Sophie considered 
running away.
“It had rained not too long ago, and 
I remember that because I remember 
thinking that the ground was soft 
outside,” Sophie said. “I pried out 
the window screen, because I was 
considering jumping out of it … I 

would probably have broken my leg. 
But I was panicked and terrified, and 
looking for an escape.”
Sophie alleged her father yelled 
threats and attempted to break 
down the door. Fearing what would 
happen if her father got to her, she 
contemplated her options.
“I sat there staring out the window 
for a few moments trying to … decide 
whether or not it was actually a good 
idea to jump out the window,” Sophie 
said. “Eventually, I came to the 
conclusion that it would be preferable 
for me to stay in an abusive household 
rather than end up homeless.”
Sophie opened the door. She 
alleged her father dragged her into 
the guest bedroom next door and 
beat her, first with a belt and then 

with his bare hands.
“He began beating me repeatedly,” 
Sophie said. “(He was) yelling threats 
and insults … He continued until he 
was exhausted. I was covered with 
bruises and blood.”
Sophie 
later 
described 
this 
incident as “an impromptu form of 
conversion therapy” in her complaint 
to ECRT.
Speaking on the condition of 
anonymity, a family member who 
was present in the house at the time 
confirmed Sophie’s account of this 
incident in an interview with The 
Daily.
The Daily also contacted a 
classmate of hers, who verified that 
Sophie came to school with bruises 
the next day. This source told The 
Daily that Sophie described the 
abuse to them at the time.

In the 2021 MIT Technology 
Review article, Prof. Zhang denied 
that the incident occurred. 
“When 
reached 
by 
email, 
(Sophie’s) 
father 
denied 
the 
allegations,” the article said. “‘I 
am sad that she alleges that I beat 
her as a child after I discovered 
her transgender identity, which 
is completely false,’ (Prof. Zhang) 
wrote.”
In an email to The Daily, Prof. 
Zhang admitted to engaging in 
physical abuse against Sophie in 
2004. He denied targeting Sophie 
for her gender identity but did not 
elaborate on the circumstances of the 
incident.
‘He could no longer be my 
father’

After the 2004 incident, Sophie 
said she hid her transgender identity, 
fearing further abuse from her father. 
She decided to transition a few 
years later, but waited until she was 
financially independent to inform 
her parents of her decision. She 
told The Daily she feared her father 
would cut her off financially when 
she came out. 
In the fall of 2010, while an 
undergraduate 
student 
at 
the 
University, Sophie told her father 
in an email that she planned to 
transition. Prof. Zhang told The Daily 
he recalled receiving this email. 
Sophie 
recalled 
arranging 
a 
meeting with her father in his office 
on campus in the North University 
Building. 
During 
this 
meeting, 
Prof. Zhang disowned Sophie and 
allegedly made offensive comments 

targeting her gender identity. 
“(My 
father) 
gave 
me 
an 
ultimatum: that if I continue down 
this terrible, self-destructive route, 
he could no longer be my father,” 
Sophie said. “He’s not disowning me, 
he explains. Rather, I’m disowning 
myself, because I’m rejecting the 
very name, the body, the identity and 
life he made for me.”
Sophie alleged Prof. Zhang went 
on to make insensitive comments 
about transgender people. She said 
he warned her that “everyone would 
be forever suspicious and disgusted 
(by her)” if she transitioned.
A family member of Sophie’s told 
The Daily they heard about this 
meeting from both Sophie and Prof. 
Zhang soon after it occurred, and 

confirmed Sophie’s account.
In his email to The Daily, Youxue 
Zhang admitted to disowning his 
daughter in 2010, but did not say 
where this conversation occurred.
“I apologize to (Sophie) for the 
2004 hitting and 2010 disowning 
you (sic),” Prof. Zhang wrote. “I only 
learned their transgender identity in 
November of 2010 when they sent 
an email to me. I was shocked at the 
time. I did not handle it well and lost 
them.”
Prof. Zhang did not comment 
on the allegations that he made 
insensitive 
comments 
about 
transgender identities during this 
meeting.
‘Professor Zhang chose to go 
beyond … threats of violence and 
commit it directly’
Sophie cut off contact with her 
father after their 2010 meeting. She 
initially decided not to report the 
incident or the one in 2004 to the 
University, citing a desire to move 
on. When she spoke to the MIT 
Technology Review in 2021, she 
identified her father as her abuser 
but did not reveal his name or his 
position as a U-M professor.
After becoming a public figure 
in 2020, Sophie said some of her 
relatives and friends in Ann Arbor 
reached out to her. She told The Daily 
she learned her father may have 
engaged in abusive conduct with 
others, and decided to report her 
own experiences to ECRT. The Daily 
is currently investigating whether 
there have been other allegations of 
misconduct against Prof. Zhang.
“I was contacted by a lot of people, 
including friends I had fallen out 
of touch with,” Sophie said. “It was 
related to me in passing that my 
father has had other victims. I’m not 
going to go into the details, because 
that’s the story of others to tell.”
In an email to ECRT on Aug. 3, 
2022, Sophie described Prof. Zhang’s 
abuse. She wrote that she was a U-M 
student when Prof. Zhang disowned 
her in 2010, and specified that the 
incident occurred in his office on 
campus. The Daily has obtained 
copies of this email correspondence.
Sophie’s email to ECRT on Aug. 3. 
Obtained by The Daily.
“In late 2010 when I was a student 
at the University of Michigan, 
Professor Zhang formally disowned 
me for being transgender,” Sophie 
wrote. “This took place in his office 
in the Geology Department … This 
gender-based harassment created 
a deeply hostile environment at 
the University for myself as a U-M 
student.”

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INDEX
Vol. CXXXII, No. 101
©2023 The Michigan Daily

N E WS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1

A R T S . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

S TAT E M E N T. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

M I C . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

O P I N I O N . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

S P O R T S . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10
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michigandaily.com
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Wednesday, January 18, 2023

ONE HUNDRED AND THIRTY TWO YEARS OF EDITORIAL FREEDOM

Read more at MichiganDaily.com

Sophie Zhang alleges abuse against UMich Professor

Zhang claims her father abused her on the basis of her transgender identity

Design by Sara Fang

JULIAN WRAY
Managing Investigative Editor

FOCAL POINT

 SAMANTHA RICH
Daily News Editor

UMich professor Peter 
Chen returns to teach, 
following not guilty 
verdict
After two years of leave, Chen 
was found not guilty of criminal 
sexual conduct and is back in the 
classroom

NEWS BRIEFS

Vice President Kamala Harris 
visited 
Rackham 
Auditorium 
Thursday 
afternoon 
for 
a 
conversation on the state of 
climate policy, student activism 
and environmental justice in Ann 
Arbor and nationwide. Over 500 

students, faculty and community 
members gathered to hear from 
Harris and other local, state and 
federal elected officials. 
LSA junior Lashaun Jackson, 
co-president 
of 
the 
Student 
Sustainability Coalition, began 
the event by speaking on the 
opportunities for U-M students 
to lead sustainability initiatives 
both within the University and the 
nation as a whole.
“Unlike those who will give 

speeches in a minute, we, as 
students, actually get to roll up 
our sleeves and do the work right 
here on campus,” Jackson said. 
“Literally sticking our hands in 
the ground of the Campus Farm, 
growing food for each other and 
distributing it at the Maize & Blue 
Cupboard, using our collective 
voice at Board of Regents meetings 
just for our sustainable leadership, 
connecting with our surrounding 
communities 
in 
Ann 
Arbor, 
Ypsilanti, Detroit to help support 
their own sustainable paths.”
In an interview with The 
Michigan Daily after the event, 
U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer 
Granholm, 
former 
Michigan 
governor, said she and Harris 
made the trip to Ann Arbor due 
to Michigan’s influence in the 
automotive 
industry 
and 
the 
prevalence of climate activism 
on the University of Michigan’s 
campus.
“Michigan is the center of 
the transportation universe — 
people here have it as part of their 

DNA,” Granholm said. “We want 
to electrify the transportation 
system. If you’re going to reduce 
CO2, 30% of carbon pollution 
comes from transportation.”
In an interview with The Daily 
before the event, Music, Theatre & 
Dance junior Donovan Rogers said 
he has worked to combine art and 
activism in his time on campus 
and was excited to learn from 
Harris and other speakers to help 
inspire his work.
“I’m the founder and artistic 
director of the DR’s Laboratory, 
which is a Black arts organization 
that’s 
focused 
on 
creating 
liberatory Black spaces,” Rogers 
said. “I think that having the 
opportunity to see Vice President 
Kamala Harris is a part of that 
pursuit, as she is the first woman 
and first Black woman vice 
president … I’m really just here 
to be a sponge and to learn about 
these issues and witness this 
historical moment.”

Read more at MichiganDaily.com

SAMANTHA RICH & 
GEORGE WEYKAMP
Daily News Editor & Daily Staff 
Reporter

Vice President Kamala Harris visits Ann Arbor 
to talk climate action

Harris and Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm engage with 
student sustainability activists

GOVERNMENT

Read more at MichiganDaily.com
KATE HUA/Daily

