Sandra Gilbert, a UC Davis English professor, women's literature scholar and poet, has been named to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, one of the highest honors academics can attain. Described by scholars from across the country and around the world as one of the most powerful and influential literary critics writing in America today, Gilbert is among 151 new fellows and 14 foreign honorary members elected. Election to the academy is based on distinguished contributions to science, scholarship, public affairs and the arts. Among those elected with Gilbert are former U.S. Sen. Sam Nunn, Supreme Court Justice David Souter, 1997 Pulitzer Prize winner in music Wynton Marsalis, and Michael Gazzaniga, former director of the UC Davis Center for Neuroscience, now at Dartmouth College. Gilbert, on sabbatical leave from the campus and out of the country at this time, is known as a prolific writer, poet and literary critic. In 1996, she served as president of the Modern Language Association; the group is the largest and most prestigious professional society for scholars of literature. She has received many awards during her career, including Guggenheim, Rockefeller and National Endowment for the Humanities fellowships. She was a co-winner of the Ms. Magazine "Woman of the Year" award and she received the Eugene Tietjens Memorial Prize awarded by Poetry magazine.