White House Archives
Deborah Rhode at the White House s 2011 Champions of Change event. View full image
At the age of 31, Deborah Rhode ’74, ’77JD, became the first female Yale College graduate elected to the Yale Board of Trustees. She and her husband, Ralph Cavanagh ’74, ’77JD, arrived at the introductory dinner and found their place cards on the table. Deborah’s card read “Deborah Rhode.” Ralph’s read “Ralph Rhode.” It was 1983, and back then, it was almost a reflex to assume that a wife would take her husband’s surname. Ralph recalls what happened next: Deborah had the “joyous pleasure” of informing the president of Yale that Ralph had decided to keep his last name. (President Giamatti ’60, ’64PhD, to his credit, laughed.)