someone who has been admitted to membership in a scholarly field
"After decades of rigorous research and peer review, Dr. Aris finally earned her place as an official academic pundit on the ancient history council."
An expert in a particular field, especially as called upon to provide comment or opinion in the media; a commentator, a critic.
"After watching the debate last night, I realized that most of the pundits were more interested in scoring political points than analyzing the actual policy proposals."