Vision Adviser Removed
Belmont removed the Belmont Vision’s adviser from her role at the Vision.
“The administration has asked for a change in leadership at the Vision,” Dorren Robinson, former adviser to the Belmont Vision, said.
She is no longer listed as adviser on the Vision website or on her Belmont bio.
Robinson became the Vision adviser in the fall of 2012, after being a part of the Belmont journalism program since 2005. Since being adviser, she’s overseen the Vision’s expansion from a small digital presence to fully online with audio, video, social media and regular broadcasts.
“I think we've grown the Vision to be a bigger, more professional outlet,” she said. “The students are telling stories that are true, that hopefully have impact to other students and faculty on campus. We don't always write what people want to hear, but I think we write what people need to hear.”
Robinson has received several awards for her professorship and leadership. In 2025, she won the Curb College’s Curby Adviser Award. She was named Journalism Educator of the Year by the Southeast Journalism Conference for 2019-2020.
She was also a finalist for Belmont’s Presidential Faculty Achievement Award for 2009-2010 and 2018-2019.
Steve Cavendish, former Vision editor-in-chief and current editor-in-chief of the Nashville Banner, remembers how impactful the Vision has been for him and other students. “The Vision is a real publication, and always has been,” he said.
He went on to say that Robinson used her position as Vision adviser to help teach students and give them real-world training.
“Dorren has been the person responsible for making sure that curriculum stayed vital to students' interests and prepared them to go out into the real world and have a chance at a career,” he said.
Former Vision editor-in-chief Ty Wellemeyer said he remembers Robinson’s emphasis on teaching good journalism.
“Dorren was someone who stayed true to what journalism actually was, which is telling good stories, sticking to facts,” said Wellemeyer.
President Greg Jones and Provost David Gregory declined an in-person interview request but offered a statement on behalf of Belmont University.
“While we will not comment on any specific personnel matter, changes in faculty responsibilities are common across the University,” said Belmont.
“We are grateful for Dorren’s many years of dedicated service to the Belmont Vision and for her ongoing leadership in the classroom. The University remains committed to supporting student journalism and a new advising plan will be announced soon.”
Cavendish offers another possible explanation for why a university might remove an adviser. In his experience, when an adviser is removed from a student publication, it’s because the university got public relations backlash from an article, he said.
“I think the only reason why you remove a positive and effective adviser is because you want a campus publication that you can ignore,” said Cavendish.
Whatever the reason, Robinson said she is sad to go.
“I mean, the Vision's been my home,” she said. “I'm really sad leaving the Vision, and I hope whoever takes the Vision after me pushes the students to write good stories.”
Written by the Vision's Senior Staff
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