Happily for Swarthmore, Brubaker is actually not our first female Rhodes Scholar. Fellowships and Prizes Advisor Melissa Mandos informed us that there have actually been four since the Rhodes began accepting women in 1977:

Jane Elizabeth Stromseth '78 (Economics major)
Melissa Ward Burch '81 (Biology)
Janice Hudgings '91 (Engineering/Mathematics)
Rebecca A. Brubaker '06 (Political Science)

The Gazette apologizes for the error.