ADAM BAKER/Arizona Daily Wildcat From left, Vanessa Bechtol, a college of planning graduate student, Barbara Becker, director of the college, and Grace Evens, a professor, talk about Bechtol's project. Becker is leading the fight to save the college from Focused Excellence cuts.

Since administrators announced the elimination of the School of Planning last year, Barbara Becker has been fighting to save her school.

Although Becker, director of the School of Planning, said she feels like she's fighting a losing battle, her efforts are winning her honors.

Becker received a national award last month from the Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning.

"There are many people who do wonderful things, but I gave the award to professor Becker in recognition of her heroic efforts this past year," said Wim Wiewel, who was president of ACSP at the time the award was given.

"She fought not just for her program, its faculty, and students, but also for good planning practice in the state of Arizona and indeed for the planning field as a whole," Wiewel said.

While attending the Administrator's Conference at Amelia Island Plantation in Florida, Becker was taken off guard when she was presented with the Presidential Service Citation.

"The award was a big deal to me. It's not like I won a gazillion-dollar grant, which is what the administration would rather see, but it's significant to me," Becker said.

Although President Peter Likins said he is still planning to move ahead with his decision to eliminate the School of Planning, he said Becker deserves to be recognized.

"I personally have great admiration for her. She's a good professor and an excellent person who has dealt with the elimination announcement with great grace and dignity," he said. "If she's been acknowledged for her work defending the school of planning, then I think that's entirely appropriate."

Last January, Likins announced that the school was one of 16 to be cut under Focused Excellence.

In April, administrators pulled the College of Planning off the chopping block and proposed that it be moved from the College of Architecture to the College of Public Health.

But over the summer administrators decided to go ahead with plans to eliminate the school because a move into the College of Public Health would be too expensive.

"It's surprising that a strong program can just be cut like that, and it's frightening to all other schools," Becker said.

The fate of the school is not yet fully determined.

"The degree program is up in the air. We're still in the middle of a lengthy consultation process," Likins said.

Becker said that the School of Planning is Focused Excellence, and she is working to save it.

Wiewel said that when he decided to give Becker the award, he recognized that Becker, a tenured professor, was working to save the school for more than the security of her job.

"She could easily have sat back and moved to another department, but she realized that this was an issue where the public interest was at stake, and she is fighting with total dedication," he said.

In 1961, the School of Planning was established, and for the past five years has been increasing its student body every year.

The two-year graduate program had 64 students enrolled when the elimination was announced in January.

Although Likins said that the School of Planning is not open to new students, Becker said the school admitted 20 new students in the fall.

Since the announcement, Becker and planning students have traveled around the state and attended meetings at the UA to voice their opinions in support of the school.

Becker tried to set up a meeting between ACSP and the president and provost to discuss the merits of the program. But the meeting was canceled and the ACSP was not permitted to reschedule.

Becker said she hopes that the faculty senate recognizes the value of the program and votes to save the school.

"On my good days I think we have a chance," she said. "But on my bad days I'm negative. It's been a long battle, and it feels like I'm not winning."