A respected Philadelphia law professor who made national headlines after accidentally emailing her students a porn link has spoken out about how she 's reclaiming her dignity since the public scandal . Lisa McElroy , 50 , reportedly sent the explicit link to her Drexel University students under the subject line 'Great article on writing briefs ' on March 31 . McElroy said she was 'mortified ' and 'in terrible shape ' when she found out what she had done , she wrote in a column for the Washington Post . Respected Drexel University law professor Lisa McElroy , 50 , who made national headlines last month after accidentally emailing her students a porn link , has spoken out about reclaiming her dignity since the scandal . The legal writing professor , who earned a doctorate from Harvard Law School , writes that she was sure she had lost her 'dignity forever ' when news of the scandal first broke . 'Everyone was talking about me , ' she said . 'Everyone was speculating about whether I watched porn , or used sex toys , or liked kinky sex . Some people were calling for my job and law license . ' The professor said she would not divulge in her column how the mistake happened . 'If you 're hoping to find out here how that happened , among the many possibilities that have been raised by gleeful commentators , I ’ m sorry to tell you you ’ re going to be disappointed . ' But McElroy did explain her concern that , with a profession where she teaches 'students to project a dignified image ' and 'possess integrity ' , people would no longer believe the teacher could follow her own lessons . Drexel conducted an internal investigation after the incident and found that McElroy , a tenured professor , had not violated the the university 's sexual harassment and misconduct policy . The university said in a statement that federal law requires it investigate all reports of 'inappropriate behaviors of a sexual nature ' . The professor defends Drexel 's decision to investigate the matter . She wrote that critics of the university were 'dismissing the dignity of the law ' and 'giving no consideration to an atmosphere in which the law exists to protect people and an investigation may be necessary ' . But McElroy said she wondered why no one thought to question the 'dignity of those who forwarded the unintended post ' . 'No one asked why , if they found it so offensive , students opened the link , with its unmistakable Web address , and watched the video long enough to know what it contained , ' she said . In fact , McElroy writes , there was n't anything newsworthy about the mistake she calls 'pretty trivial ' at all . 'My students are adults . The link was quickly removed . There was nothing illegal in the video ... Yet , because it was porn and I 'm a law professor , news organizations spread the story around the world . ' McElroy said she was 'mortified ' and 'in terrible shape ' when she found out she sent her students an explicit link under the subject line 'Great article on writing briefs ' on March 31 . McElroy also questions both the dignity of the 'tabloid journalists ' , who called her cellphone number and waited outside her office to interview students , and the 'intended audience ' they knew would want to read the story in the first place . Readers , she said , 'enjoyed the scandal ( where is Olivia Pope when you need her ? ) , the thrill of the sexual and the salacious , the speculation ' . 'Gossip was natural . ' The professor said the incident made her wonder what the definition of dignity - and who holds the power to decide it - really was . 'Is it the degraded person who lacks dignity ? Or the person who seeks to degrade her ? ' she asks . 'If a person is portrayed as less than dignified , does that mean she is ? Who has the power to decide ? ' But McElroy said that , almost a month later , she has found the power to decide at least what her own personal definition of dignity is - realizing that it 's something she can get back . 'You can reimagine yourself , and your reputation , and your professional image , ' she writes . 'You can come to realize that there are worse things than humiliation . There is cancer . There is isolation . And there is the willingness — even the desire — to bring others down to lift yourself up . 'You can go back . ' Drexel conducted an internal investigation after the incident and found that McElroy , a tenured professor , had not violated the the university 's sexual harassment and misconduct policy .
Lisa McElroy , 50 , who teaches legal writing at northwestern University , accidentally posted the explicit message on page 31 . she said she was ' in terrible shape ' when she first realized what she had done and saw her name in headlines . Yet the professor said she found the matter ' pretty trivial ' and questioned the dignity of those who forwarded the ' unintended post ' McElroy , who has tenure , was suspended by the university and has been cleared to continue teaching .