Mahoney is the president of San Francisco State University (SFSU) since July 2019, and is the first woman to hold this role.
[1] During her tenure was the COVID-19 pandemic, which forced a move towards online classes, budget shortfalls, and staff cuts.
[11][12][13][14] In September 2020, SFSU faculty Rabab Abdulhadi and Tomomi Kinukawa were hosting a virtual class lecture on Zoom (software) by Leila Khaled, a Palestinian political activist with a militant history, when the Zoom canceled the broadcast due to the company's support of a pro-Zionism stance.
[15][16] The Leila Khaled event brought SFSU into a tense national news debate on the "boundaries and consequences of freedom of expression", and had Mahoney fielding questions about her support and/or lack of support for the Middle Eastern studies program.
[20] Mahoney publicly spoke out against the Gaines event and negative effect on the LGBTQ campus community.