AI-generated illustration; not a photograph of the reported event.
- calendar_today October 30, 2026
Provost Santiago Schnell Steps Down Amid AI Disclosure Findings
Santiago Schnell, Dartmouth College’s provost, has resigned his post and is leaving the university after an internal review determined he failed to disclose his use of artificial intelligence (AI) in academic and public writing. The announcement was made by Dartmouth President Sian Leah Beilock in a campus-wide email on Wednesday, following a faculty committee’s investigation into Schnell’s conduct.
Background: News Reports Raise Questions Over AI Use
The review was initiated on September 25 when news outlets, including Semafor, reported on Schnell’s use of AI tools to compose opinion pieces and academic manuscripts. Of particular note was a Washington Post column that prompted campus scrutiny of Schnell’s ai use disclosure practices.
Committee Report Identifies Policy Violations
The committee, led by former provost and computer science professor David Kotz, concluded that Schnell used AI to edit research manuscripts and generate figures without transparent acknowledgment, violating the disclosure requirements of at least one academic journal and a national newspaper. According to the committee’s report, these actions did not comply with established ethical standards and ai transparency guidelines at Dartmouth.
- The committee emphasized that it did not employ AI detection tools in its investigation but instead reviewed usage logs from Dartmouth’s enterprise AI platform, Claude, and Schnell’s email correspondence.
- In a specific journal case, Schnell used Claude for substantial manuscript editing and code troubleshooting without following the publisher’s disclosure protocol, which had been in effect since at least 2023.
- Schnell acknowledged, via email to President Beilock, that he had relied on outdated author instructions but admitted, “a disclosure would have been the best approach.”
Findings on Specific Publications
The committee focused on a selection of Schnell’s roughly 30 published works at Dartmouth since July 2025. In one example, he used ChatGPT to refine arguments and check grammar before submitting to the Washington Post, which the committee deemed a “clear violation” of the outlet’s ai policy violation protocols.
In another instance, Schnell sought feedback from Claude on AI writing signatures in his manuscript and incorporated suggested edits without full disclosure to the intended journal. When questioned by an editor about AI involvement, Schnell responded that he was unaware disclosure was necessary, which the committee found understated the extent of his ai editing and use of artificial intelligence.
No violations were identified in one of Schnell’s co-authored papers.
Lack of Full Cooperation and Ethics Questions
While Schnell provided his Dartmouth-issued laptop for review, the committee reported he did not grant access to personal large language model (LLM) accounts used in his academic and public writings. This limited the scope of the investigation and further raised concerns about adherence to ethical standards and transparency in academic writing and research manuscripts.
The investigative committee included professors from computer science, English, and linguistics, as well as a Dartmouth trustee.
Leadership Changes and Institutional Response
President Beilock wrote in her letter, “Out of respect for his colleagues and the institution, Santiago has resigned as provost and is leaving the university. This was his decision.” She stressed the importance of leaders modeling transparency and sound judgment, particularly as Dartmouth prepares to host its “AI at 70: What Must Remain Human?” conference.
History professor Matthew Delmont was named interim provost through June 2028. Neither Schnell nor Dartmouth’s Director of Media Relations immediately responded to requests for comment regarding the resignation or the findings on ai misconduct and ai guidelines.
Source: vtdigger.org.
