{{Short description|American university president}} {{Infobox officeholder | name = Lynn Mahoney | education = Stanford University (BA)<br/> Rutgers University (PhD) | occupation = University president, administrator, author, social historian | office = 14th President of San Francisco State University | term_start = July 1, 2019 | preceded = Leslie Wong | birth_date = {{birth date and age|1964|05|19}} | spouse = Charles Ponce de Leon | children = 2 | module = {{Infobox academic | child = yes | thesis_title = Near the edge: Elizabeth Stoddard and the boundaries of Victorian culture | thesis_url = https://www.proquest.com/docview/304522833/ | thesis_year = 1991 | doctoral_advisor = T.J. Jackson Lears | academic_advisors = | discipline = History | sub_discipline = | workplaces = {{plainlist| * State University of New York at Purchase * California State University, Long Beach * California State University, Los Angeles * San Francisco State University }} | doctoral_students = | notable_students = }} }}
'''Lynn Mahoney''' (born 1964) is an American university president, author, and social historian. Mahoney is the president of San Francisco State University (SFSU) since July 2019, and is the first woman to hold this role.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=2019-05-22 |title=CSU appoints first woman president of San Francisco State University |url=https://abc7news.com/sfsu-san-francisco-state-female-president-lynn-mahoney/5312580/ |access-date=2022-04-23 |website=ABC7 San Francisco |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=May 22, 2019 |title=CSU Trustees Appoint Lynn Mahoney As First Woman President Of SFSU |url=https://www.sfgate.com/news/bayarea/article/Csu-Trustees-Appoint-Lynn-Mahoney-As-First-Woman-13872228.php |access-date=2022-04-23 |website=SFGATE |language=en-US|publisher=Bay City News, Inc.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Asimov |first=Nanette |date=2019-05-22 |title=After 120 years, San Francisco State hires its first female president |url=https://www.sfchronicle.com/education/article/After-120-years-San-Francisco-State-gets-its-13869823.php |access-date=2022-04-23 |website=San Francisco Chronicle |language=en-US}}</ref> Her scholarly work has focused on United States history, women's history, feminism, race studies, and ethnicity.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Asimov |first=Nanette |date=2019-11-29 |title=SF State's new president: Lynn Mahoney makes peace on a fractured campus |url=https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/SF-State-s-new-president-Lynn-Mahoney-makes-14870810.php |access-date=2022-04-23 |website=San Francisco Chronicle |language=en-US}}</ref> She is the author of ''Elizabeth Stoddard and the Boundaries of Bourgeois Culture'' (2004, Routledge); a book about novelist and poet Elizabeth Stoddard.<ref name=":2">{{Cite journal |last=Harris |first=Jennifer |date=2007 |title=American Studies in Review, A Renaissance for Elizabeth Stoddard |journal=Canadian Review of American Studies |volume=37 |issue=2 |pages=283–292|doi=10.3138/cras.37.2.283 }}</ref>
== Biography == Lynn Mahoney was born on May 19, 1964, in the United States.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=Mahoney, Lynn, 1964- |url=https://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n2003041222.html |website=LC Name Authority File (LCNAF) |publisher=The Library of Congress}}</ref> She attended Stanford University, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts degree (1986) in American studies, and then received a Ph.D. in history in 1999 from Rutgers University.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Bravo |first=Ken |date=Winter 2021 |title=Personal History |url=https://magazine.sfsu.edu/fallwinter-2021/personal-history |access-date=2022-04-23 |website=SF State Magazine}}</ref>
She is married to history professor Charles Ponce de Leon,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Lerose |first=Robert |date=May 27, 2020 |title=Rising to the Challenge |url=https://alumni.rutgers.edu/stay-connected/alumni-news-and-stories/rising-to-the-challenge/ |access-date=2022-04-23 |website=Rutgers University Alumni Association |language=en-US}}</ref> together they have two children.
Prior to her role at SFSU, she previously worked at State University of New York at Purchase;<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite news |last=Lombardi |first=Kate Stone |date=2007-02-11 |title=Off Campus and Off the College Security Radar? |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/11/nyregion/nyregionspecial2/11wecol.html |access-date=2022-04-23 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> California State University, Long Beach (August 2008 – 2015); and California State University, Los Angeles (February 2015 – 2019) as the Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2014-12-22 |title=Cal State L.A. names Lynn Mahoney as Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs |url=https://www.calstatela.edu/univ/ppa/publicat/cal-state-la-names-lynn-mahoney-provost-and-vice-president-academic-affairs |access-date=2022-04-23 |website=Cal State LA |language=en}}</ref>
=== San Francisco State University === In July 2019, Mahoney succeeded Leslie Wong, to serve as the 14th President of San Francisco State University and the first woman President.<ref name=":1" /> During her tenure was the COVID-19 pandemic, which forced a move towards online classes, budget shortfalls, and staff cuts.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Walsh |first=Eli |date=2021-10-18 |title=SF, Marin Colleges And Universities To Keep Indoor Mask Requirements For Indoor Settings As Local Mandates Ease |url=https://www.sfgate.com/news/bayarea/article/Sf-Marin-Colleges-And-Universities-To-Keep-16544160.php |access-date=2022-04-23 |website=SFGATE |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Walsh |first=Eli |date=2022-01-06 |title=SF State, Cal State East Bay To Start Spring Semester Virtually Amid Omicron Wave |url=https://www.sfgate.com/news/bayarea/article/Sf-State-Cal-State-East-Bay-To-Start-Spring-16754957.php |access-date=2022-04-23 |website=SFGATE |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Pereira |first=Alyssa |date=2020-05-12 |title=CSU schools to keep campuses closed through fall semester, chancellor says |url=https://www.sfgate.com/education/article/CSU-schools-to-keep-campuses-closed-through-fall-15265534.php |access-date=2022-04-23 |website=SFGATE |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Arredondo |first=Vanessa |date=2020-09-10 |title=SF State to lay off 131 staffers — but no faculty — after budget shortfall |url=https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/SF-State-to-lay-off-131-staffers-but-no-15555104.php |access-date=2022-04-23 |website=San Francisco Chronicle |language=en-US}}</ref>
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.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Flaherty |first=Colleen |date=2020-09-27 |title=Zoom refuses to stream university event featuring member of terrorist organization |url=https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2020/09/25/zoom-refuses-stream-university-event-featuring-member-terrorist-organization |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200927005246/https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2020/09/25/zoom-refuses-stream-university-event-featuring-member-terrorist-organization |archive-date=September 27, 2020 |access-date=2022-04-23 |website=Inside Higher Ed}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Egelko |first=Bob |date=2022-03-15 |title=Tensions over ethnic studies continue at S.F. State as president vetoes faculty decision siding with professor |url=https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/Tensions-over-ethnic-studies-continue-at-SF-State-17004728.php |access-date=2022-04-23 |website=San Francisco Chronicle |language=en-US}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Mahoney |first=Lynn |date=2020-09-14 |title=S.F. State president: I condemn hate but cherish a diversity of opinions |url=https://jweekly.com/2020/09/14/s-f-state-president-i-condemn-hate-but-cherish-a-diversity-of-opinions/ |access-date=2022-04-23 |website=J. |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Hoffer |first=Shira |date=2021-07-21 |title=Safe and Free: Envisioning a New Guide for Speakers on Campus |url=https://harvardpolitics.com/safe-and-free/ |access-date=2022-04-23 |website=Harvard Political Review |language=en-US}}</ref>
In April 2023, Turning Point USA an American conservative non-profit organization student chapter at SFSU hosted a Riley Gaines event where she spoke against the participation of trans women in women's sports.<ref name="XPress 2023">{{Cite news |last=Hernandez |first=Adriana |date=April 7, 2023 |title=Riley Gaines visit to SF State results in trans-rights activist protest |work=Golden Gate Xpress |url=https://goldengatexpress.org/102298/latest/news/riley-gaines-visit-to-sf-state-results-in-trans-right-activist-protests/ |url-status=live |access-date= |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230408063639/https://goldengatexpress.org/102298/latest/news/riley-gaines-visit-to-sf-state-results-in-trans-right-activist-protests/ |archive-date=April 8, 2023}}</ref> After the event concluded, protesters arrived.<ref name="SFGate 20232">{{Cite news |last=Regimbal |first=Alec |date=April 7, 2023 |title=Anti-Lia Thomas activist whisked away by police amid protest at San Francisco State |work=SFGATE |url=https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/riley-gaines-speech-san-francisco-state-university-17884740.php |url-status=live |access-date= |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230407214044/https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/riley-gaines-speech-san-francisco-state-university-17884740.php |archive-date=April 7, 2023}}</ref> Mahoney publicly spoke out against the Gaines event and negative effect on the LGBTQ campus community.<ref name=":3">{{Cite web |date=2023-04-12 |title=SFSU president says Riley Gaines event was 'deeply traumatic' for trans community |url=https://www.kron4.com/news/bay-area/sfsu-president-says-riley-gaines-event-was-deeply-traumatic-for-trans-community/ |access-date=2023-11-16 |website=KRON4 |language=en-US}}</ref> Gaines claimed she was assaulted twice by a man after the event, and insisted that women need protection.<ref name=":3" /><ref name="CNN 2023">{{Cite web |last1=Chen |first1=Natasha |last2=Mossburg |first2=Cheri |date=April 7, 2023 |title=Former college swimmer says she was assaulted at an event opposing the inclusion of trans women in women's sports |url=https://www.cnn.com/2023/04/07/us/former-ncaa-swimmer-riley-gaines-assault-san-francisco-state-university/index.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230408050848/https://www.cnn.com/2023/04/07/us/former-ncaa-swimmer-riley-gaines-assault-san-francisco-state-university/index.html |archive-date=April 8, 2023 |access-date= |website=CNN |language=en}}</ref>
== Publications == * {{Cite book |last=Mahoney |first=Lynn |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wPCTAgAAQBAJ |title=Elizabeth Stoddard and the Boundaries of Bourgeois Culture |publisher=Routledge |year=2004 |isbn=9781135883416 |editor-last=Cain |editor-first=Willam |series=Studies in Major Literary Authors |location=New York City, NY}}<ref name=":2" />
== References == {{Reflist}}
== External links == * [https://president.sfsu.edu/bio Biography and profile] at San Francisco State University * [https://goldengatexpress.org/103966/campus-original/sitdown-with-sfsu-president-lynn-mahoney/ Sitdown with SFSU President Lynn Mahoney] (interview from 2023)
{{San Francisco State University}} {{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mahoney, Lynn}} Category:1964 births Category:Living people Category:Stanford University alumni Category:Rutgers University alumni Category:American academic administrators Category:American social historians Category:Women's historians Category:California State University, Los Angeles, faculty Category:California State University, Long Beach, faculty Category:Purchase College faculty Category:Presidents of San Francisco State University Category:21st-century American women Category:Women heads of universities and colleges