On July 1, University of Notre Dame dean Santiago Schnell will assume the role of Dartmouth’s next provost, succeeding outgoing Provost David Kotz ’86. Born and raised in Venezuela, Schnell holds a Ph.D. in mathematical biology from the University of Oxford and has served in leadership roles at the University of Michigan and University of Notre Dame, where he currently serves as dean of its College of Science. Schnell’s own research is on the role of enzymes in kinetic reactions. The Dartmouth sat down with Schnell to discuss his path to Dartmouth, his priorities as provost and how he hopes to engage with students during his tenure.
You’ve had an incredible academic and personal journey — from growing up in Venezuela and studying at the University of Oxford to serving as dean of the College of Science at Notre Dame. How have those experiences shaped the way you think about education and leadership?
SS: In Venezuela, I studied at Universidad Simón Bolívar. As a biologist, I studied advanced engineering mathematics in parallel to my biology degree, but at the same time, even though it was a technical institution, every scientist needed to have a liberal arts education. I decided to pursue the philosophy route because I felt that it would allow me to make questions more clear and gain a better understanding of the overall structure of human knowledge. This is why I have so much love for the humanities.
From there actually, I wasn’t sure if I wanted to be an academic. I worked for Procter and Gamble in Cincinnati, Ohio. I worked in the Latin American division and I was working in the beauty care division actually helping to develop the new formulation of Pantene — that’s why you can see my hair is shiny and beautiful. After being in the company for a year, I imagined myself in my deathbed, surrounded by my children and grandchildren and they would ask me, “Well Grandpa, what have you done?” And if I would have told them, “I wanted to make hair more shiny and beautiful,” I would go straight to hell. When I decided that that’s not where my vocation lay, I worked with an astrophysicist who was one of the few theoreticians in Venezuela to do theoretical work on enzyme kinetics. He helped me make contacts with the University of Oxford to do a Ph.D. in mathematics. I went to the University of Oxford, and it was the time of my life.
Oxford thrives on the liberal arts education. They want to make sure that every individual, regardless of the degree they have, is a part of the social fabric of the academic enterprise. From there, I briefly did a postdoctoral position at Oxford and then I came to the United States to do my faculty position at the University of Indiana.
You’ve described yourself as a proponent of the “unity of knowledge.” What does this mean to you, and how do you hope to bring that philosophy to life at Dartmouth?
SS: The way human beings learn about the universe and life and the arts and the humanities is through our senses. We are trapped as animals in what we can sense through our bodies. All academic disciplines are an extension of what we can sense. All of us live in Plato’s cave, and we’re observing the reflections of the objects through our academic disciplines. That’s why mathematicians shouldn’t be talking about what a physicist does, physicists shouldn’t be talking about what a historian does, because the reflection of reality we have is imperfect. The unity of knowledge tells us that only when all the academic disciplines are solving big questions, can you have an idea of the entire object and come up with a solution.
Institutions like Dartmouth that promote the liberal arts education tend to have faculty members that are more open to a dialogue between academic disciplines. At the same time, you have students that are more well-rounded and well-informed so that they can start to answer questions in collaboration with individuals and reflect on the object from a different perspective. Because Dartmouth is a small institution, where we’re rubbing shoulders with each other walking on the Green, that is a unique environment for the unity of knowledge. It would allow not only the Dartmouth faculty, but the students as well, to come up with answers that actually can have an impact.
You’ll be stepping into the role of provost during a time of institutional change, including the restructuring of the undergraduate school. What are your top priorities for your first year?
SS: It’s always difficult to talk about priorities because I have an understanding from the outside. I need to actually sit down and work more with the faculty and the students to understand the priorities. The formation of the new School of Arts and Sciences is very, very important and it’s an urgent priority that I can come in and help to establish the school so that it can operate more effectively.
You’ve held many faculty appointments and led major research initiatives during your career. How will your teaching and research experiences shape your tenure as provost? Will you continue teaching or conducting research while serving as provost?
SS: I would like to do some research. The provost is the chief academic officer and I think the provost should try to keep at least one aspect of their scholarly work active to serve as a role model for the faculty, the staff and the students. It would give me an understanding of what the faculty and students are experiencing while they work at Dartmouth. Most of the provosts and presidents in the nation, the job is so demanding that they don’t have time to do research — I’m going to give it a shot.
I would love to teach, but I think that with teaching, you have to invest so much time in the office hours, providing support and grading, that it could be a disservice for the students if I teach a course.
I find my research incredibly relaxing. I find sitting down, reading and working on my equations and mathematical models relaxing, so that I can recharge and actually go back again to the administrative work. The moment I realize that I’m not serving the institution properly, the first thing that would go out of the window is going to be the research. It would break my heart, but my role is actually serving the faculty, students and staff as the provost, chief academic officer and chief budget officer. That’s my role, and anything that will get in the way of doing that, I will have to drop.
How do you think Dartmouth should continue to navigate recent federal actions in higher education, including challenges to federal research funding?
SS: I’m going to be working for Dartmouth because Dartmouth has unique values that need to be defended. For the higher education system in the United States, we must protect what actually matters the most to all of us in the universities, which is the ability of our community to actually learn, our ability to actually teach, to do research and to drive and lead. The role of the provost is going to be playing a critical role in that. We have to stand by our values and make sure that they are defended in an effective manner. The university presidents are working behind the scenes very hard for all institutions.
How do you hope to connect with Dartmouth students — both inside and outside the classroom?
SS: One thing I have done here at Notre Dame that I enjoy tremendously is that I went to the dining halls and would have breakfast hours, lunch hours and then dinner hours with the students. For me, it was a very refreshing experience because generally, when you’re in a top leadership position and live in the ivory tower, you don’t receive all the right information and don’t learn everything that happens at the institution. I hope I can do that at Dartmouth and meet the students, learn more about them, what they are doing, what they are not liking about the institution and what they do like about the institution.
One of my goals as well, is going to departments, specific programs and residence halls and holding meetings to talk to everyone and understand where the hearts and minds of our students and staff and faculty are at, and what their aspirations are.
I believe that the role of a provost is the role of a gardener. Sometimes, with a strategy, you can decide to bring a new plant or flower that you would like to plant in the garden. At the end of the day, you actually need to provide the fertilizer, the irrigation and the water that is required and learn about the plants that are a part of the garden. In the isolation of my office, I cannot do that, so I need to have these meetings where I’m talking to faculty, talking to students and talking to staff to figure out what they need to flourish.
Finally, as you step into this new chapter, what’s something you’re most excited to do at Dartmouth? Is there anything on your Hanover bucket list so far?
SS: I’ve visited Dartmouth twice, and people talk very highly about it. It’s a very outdoorsy place where you have the opportunity to go to different tracks and trails. I’ve also heard talk about winter sports. I would like to give it a shot.
They have told me that the Appalachian Trails is nearby, and I would like to do a hike. I love canoeing and would like to do some canoeing in the river. I’m looking forward to many of those activities because Dartmouth is a place where I think that everyone is outside actually enjoying the weather and the environment.
The interview has been edited for clarity and length.
