Right split about the first female rector (8)
I believe the answer is:
reverend
'rector' is the definition.
(thesaurus)
'right split about the first female' is the wordplay.
'right' becomes 'r' (common abbreviation).
'split' becomes 'rend' (I've seen this before**).
'about' means one lot of letters go next to another.
'the first female' becomes 'eve' (adam and eve).
'rend' after 'eve' is 'everend'.
'r'+'everend'='REVEREND'
(Other definitions for reverend that I've seen before include "Cleric's title" , "Minister" , "(Form of address to) clergyman" , "Title of respect for a member of the clergy" , "Title for clergyman or convent Mother" .)