REPORT: CUNY law dean self-cancels after referring to herself as a slaveholder

The dean of the City University of New York School of Law has stepped down from her position after allegedly referring to herself as a “slaveholder” during a personnel meeting in November.

According to the New York Post, Mary Lu Bilek, the dean of the CUNY School of Law announced earlier in the year that she would be stepping down, but revealed in March that she is stepping down due to a comment she made during a meeting in March.

According to the outlet, Bilek referred to herself as a “slaveholder,” in the context of taking responsibility for a proposal on hiring that others thought had a “disparate racial impact.”

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“In a misguided effort to draw an analogy to a model of reparations in order to place blame on myself, as Dean, for racial inequities at our school, I thoughtlessly referred to myself as the ‘slaveholder’ who should be held responsible,” Bilek wrote, according to The Post.

 Bilek said in the email that she “realized it was wrong” after making the comment, adding that she has, since then,”apologized without reservation to the faculty.”

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Bilek decided to step down after the incident in order for the university community to put their trust in a new dean.

”The work it would take to repair the trust necessary to lead the Law School is a burden I don’t want to impose on the faculty or the community,” Bilek said.

Campus Reform reached out to CUNY and Bilek for comment, but did not receive a response.