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Dartmouth Provost Resigns Over Extensive AI Use in Writings
· Confirmed
In Short: Santiago Schnell, Dartmouth College's provost, resigned on August 9, 2026, following an investigation into his use of artificial intelligence (AI) in his writings, according to Ars Technica and Ewtnnews.
Santiago Schnell, Dartmouth College's provost, resigned on August 9, 2026, following an investigation into his use of artificial intelligence (AI) in his writings, according to Ars Technica and Ewtnnews.
The controversy began when The Dartmouth reported that Schnell’s writings since 2022, including academic papers and op-eds, were flagged by Pangram, an AI-detection tool, as overwhelmingly AI-written.
In a statement to The Dartmouth, Schnell acknowledged using chatbots to refine arguments and check for grammatical errors, but claimed ultimate authorship over his manuscripts.
The Dartmouth’s investigation, which reviewed writings Schnell authored since joining Dartmouth in July 2025, found that he had used AI extensively in his work.
According to Inside Higher Ed, Schnell’s writings were 96 percent AI-written across nine professional articles published this year, including the Washington Post essay and two academic papers about mathematics.
The committee reviewed Schnell’s chat history with Dartmouth Claude enterprise and communications with peers and reviewers regarding his AI use.
Schnell did not turn over logs from his personal LLM accounts related to the writings in question, making the investigation challenging.
President Sian Leah Beilock announced that Dartmouth will have an interim provost through 2028.
Jennifer Frey, a Catholic philosopher at the University of Virginia, expressed her disappointment on social media, saying, “Obviously, I am against AI writing. And yet I feel whiplash here.”
Background
Santiago Schnell resigned as Dartmouth's provost after an investigation found he used AI extensively in his writings.
What's confirmed
- “Out of respect for his colleagues and the institution, Santiago has resigned as provost and is leaving the university.” His resignation comes less than two weeks before he was set to face a no-confidence vote from faculty leaders.
What's still developing
- “If students at Dartmouth used AI to write an entire paper without acknowledgement and then submitted it to their professor, they would be in clear violation of the Academic Honor Principle,” Moyse wrote.
- “I am fully responsible for any text under my signature,” he asserted.