{"id":49669,"date":"2025-05-06T15:08:25","date_gmt":"2025-05-06T15:08:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/giving\/?p=49669"},"modified":"2025-05-06T15:08:25","modified_gmt":"2025-05-06T15:08:25","slug":"fostering-student-success-through-belonging","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/giving\/2025\/05\/06\/fostering-student-success-through-belonging\/","title":{"rendered":"Fostering Student Success Through Belonging"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"A<\/a>Paul \u201963 and LaVonne \u201963 Batalden\u2019s experience as students at Augsburg continues to inspire their generosity. Over the years, they have supported initiatives such as the Norman and Evangeline Hagfors Center for Science, Business, and Religion; the <\/span>Batalden Faculty Scholar Program in Applied Ethics<\/span><\/a>; and, most recently, the establishment of the Batalden Assistant Dean of Student Success and Belonging.<\/span><\/p>\n

Paul\u2019s connection to Augsburg spans three generations. His grandfather served on a planning committee to develop a college for Lutheran immigrants, and his father, Abner, graduated from Augsburg College in 1935. \u201cWhen it came time for college, there wasn\u2019t much conversation about it,\u201d Paul joked. LaVonne, however, was initially set on Gustavus. After encouragement from her pastor, she decided to visit Augsburg. \u201cMark Johnson was an admissions counselor, and I was impressed with the personal attention I received, so I decided to go,\u201d LaVonne shared.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Paul and LaVonne attribute their sense of belonging to their success at Augsburg. \u201cBecause the classes were so small, the faculty really knew you,\u201d LaVonne said. \u201cYes, the faculty was key to my sense of belonging,\u201d added Paul. \u201cThey encouraged my curiosity and taught me to love ideas and how they can change the future.\u201d Paul graduated with a degree in chemistry, and LaVonne graduated with a degree in biology. They both had careers in academia, Paul at Dartmouth College and LaVonne at Colby-Sawyer College. Throughout her career, LaVonne always thought back to the advantage of her liberal arts education. \u201cIt was my non-science courses that stuck with me over the years. They gave me a broader perspective than I might not have otherwise acquired.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Recognizing the powerful relationship between community, growth, and achievement, Paul and LaVonne established the Batalden Assistant Dean of Student Success and Belonging as part of the <\/span>Promising Futures: Faithful and Relevant<\/span><\/i><\/a> campaign. \u201cThe college experience is rooted in connection,\u201d Paul reflected. \u201cIn many ways, learning involves feeling like you belong\u2014both in your coursework and community. This role will facilitate student success by ensuring they can exercise their curiosity and creativity among peers from all walks of life. Belonging is key to advancing our future as a planet of people from different backgrounds.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The Bataldens share a deep excitement as they envision the future of Augsburg. \u201cAugsburg was founded by a community of Norwegian immigrants who shared a desire to equip themselves and their children with the knowledge they would need to be successful in this new country<\/span>.<\/span> In that spirit, they built a community that recognized how values were important to the learning process,\u201d LaVonne said. \u201cValuing belonging helps awaken the capabilities of generosity, creativity, and kindness,\u201d Paul added. \u201cWe truly believe in Augsburg\u2019s mission to prepare students to lead meaningful lives.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Paul \u201963 and LaVonne \u201963 Batalden\u2019s experience as students at Augsburg continues to inspire their generosity. Over the years, they have supported initiatives such as the Norman and Evangeline Hagfors Center for Science, Business, and Religion; the Batalden Faculty Scholar Program in Applied Ethics; and, most recently, the establishment of the Batalden Assistant Dean of …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":470,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,7,240],"tags":[155,148,242,241,243],"class_list":["post-49669","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-donor-recognition","category-gift-announcements","category-promising-futures","tag-augsburg-alumni","tag-augsburg-university","tag-class-of-1963","tag-promising-futures","tag-student-success"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/giving\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49669","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/giving\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/giving\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/giving\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/470"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/giving\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=49669"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/giving\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49669\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":49672,"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/giving\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49669\/revisions\/49672"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/giving\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=49669"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/giving\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=49669"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/giving\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=49669"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}