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Dartmouth's provost warned us about AI cheating—but his own AI use cost him his job
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Dartmouth College provost Santiago Schnell resigned this week after an advisory committee found he failed to disclose significant AI use in an academic paper and a Washington Post op-ed. The committee described his cooperation as “insufficient.” Schnell had surrendered his Dartmouth laptop but withheld personal AI logs and declined to meet investigators.
The case follows Schnell’s August 9, 2026, Washington Post op-ed, “Universities are fighting AI cheating. But there’s a deeper problem.” The resignation puts the provost at the center of the disclosure debate he had publicly addressed. Dartmouth’s review examined writings tied to his academic work and commentary.
Investigators accessed Schnell’s Dartmouth Claude enterprise account, which showed him using the LLM to revise papers, fix code bugs, and edit or generate figures. In one prompt, he asked Claude to act as a reviewer in nonlinear chemical dynamics and mathematical chemical kinetics for a paper submitted to ChemSystemsChem. Schnell has said he used AI as an editorial aid and discussion partner.
He told Semafor he used chatbots “to refine a few arguments” and “check for grammatical errors.” He told a journal editor he used AI as an editorial tool to refine sentences, improve clarity, and express arguments. Schnell said he did not disclose the AI use because he “did not understand that this type of AI-assisted editing required disclosure.”
The distinction between editing and ghostwriting remains central to university AI policies. The committee found significant undisclosed use despite Schnell’s public warnings. The episode raises questions about enforcement and trust in academic publishing.
Publishers require authors to reveal AI assistance, and Schnell’s case shows those rules can apply to senior administrators. Schnell’s departure leaves Dartmouth without its provost as institutions confront AI’s role in scholarship. The case may push universities to clarify policies and train faculty on disclosure requirements.
