Melanie Leslie will become the new dean of the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, the first woman to fill that role.

Leslie is currently vice dean and a law professor at Cardozo, where she has taught since 1995. She teaches courses on property and trusts and estates.

In addition to being Cardozo's first female dean, Leslie will be the first Cardozo graduate to take the job. She obtained her J.D. from the school in 1991 and, during her time there, worked as executive editor of the Cardozo Law Review.