St. Joe’s chapter of Pi Kappa Phi received notification that they were denied charter status on March 27.

The fraternity previously left St. Joe’s in 2011 due to low membership, but returned to campus in 2017. In March this year the chapter had 66 members and 28 pledges. The original decision to grant the chapter charter status, which would have given them full-fledged status as a fraternity, had been delayed in early March without the announcement of a new date.

In an emailed response to questions from The Hawk, Cary Anderson, Ed.D. vice president of Student Life, said his office does not discuss the details of a community standards outcome.

“We will not comment on the decision regarding Pi Kappa Phi’s charter status,” Anderson wrote in the email. “In general, when a Greek Organization seeks University recognition, there is a written document outlining Saint Joseph’s University chapter recognition requirements. If the requirements are not met, then recognition is not granted.”

When asked for more information and access to the document, Anderson said the document is not public.

“The document outlining SJU chapter requirements is a document between the chapter seeking recognition and the department,” Anderson wrote in a follow-up email.

Both Stacey Sottung, M.Ed., associate director of Student Leadership and Activities, and two brothers of the St. Joe’s chapter of Pi Kappa Phi also declined to comment on the university’s decision.

Pi Kappa Phi as a national organization has 160 full chapters and 17 associate chapters active in 43 states, according to the official website.

The website states that in order to start a new chapter at any college or university, there must be a group of 25 interested members with a collective cumulative GPA of 2.8 and an individual cumulative GPA of 2.5 or higher. Greek life must already have an established presence on campus, and the institution must have a paid Greek life administrator.

Jack Stewart ’21, a member of Drexel University’s chapter of Pi Kappa Phi, explained that the fraternity is the only one with its own national philanthropy organization, the Ability Experience, which helps to support people with physical disabilities.

“It’s something I wanted to be part of, something that’s bigger than myself,” Stewart said. “[It’s] something that will definitely stay with you for life, and something that will get you connections, obviously, through the rest of your life.”

St. Joe’s chapter of Pi Kappa Phi, while awaiting a university decision, received recognition as the top new chapter for its fundraising efforts last year.

Brianna Genello ’19 contributed to this story.