Business fraternities at Georgetown have recently seen their fortunes rise and fall like stock market values, with one prominent fraternity dissolving last month and another springing up in its place.

The Georgetown chapter of Delta Sigma Pi, one of the largest co-ed business fraternities in the United States, lost national recognition in February because it didn’t comply with fraternity guidelines, according to Bill Schilling, the fraternity’s executive director.

Schilling said the Georgetown chapter of Delta Sigma Pi was suspended last fall after the national office found that students were not following proper filing procedures. Further investigation led to the revocation of the Georgetown charter at a Feb. 6 board meeting.

“The current collegiate chapter at Georgetown decided they no longer wanted to pursue the standard practices of Delta Sigma Pi,” Schilling said. “We sought to have dialogue repeatedly with the students, without significant response. The students consequently forfeited their charter by informing us they no longer wished to adhere to the professional standards and procedures of the Delta Sigma Pi.”

Julie Featherman, coordinator of undergraduate programs for the SB and the adviser to Delta Sigma Pi, confirmed that the problems with the national office arose from the students’ failure to file required paperwork and information, and that the national office made an effort to reach out to students at Georgetown before it decided to revoke the charter.

Chris Bianco (MSB ’07), the former president of Delta Sigma Pi, declined to comment on the termination of the fraternity chapter.

But before the dust had settled on the end of one business fraternity at Georgetown, another sprung into existence. Alpha Kappa Psi, America’s oldest business fraternity, recently recognized Georgetown as a part of its Midwest region. The Colonization Ceremony, which took place Feb. 18, was a final step in establishing a Georgetown chapter.

“As the semester progresses we will be putting on several different events and workshops for our members and by the end of the semester will be a full-fledged chapter,” said Michael Addeo (MSB ’07), cofounder of the Alpha Kappa Psi chapter at Georgetown.

Featherman, who is now the administrative advisor for the new student organization, said that the founding of Alpha Kappa Psi at Georgetown was not a response to the dissolution of Delta Sigma Pi.

Alpha Kappi Psi currently has 55 members on campus, Featherman said.

Alpha Kappa Psi member Julia Damelio (MSB ’08) said that she sees the fraternity as a chance to apply business skills taught in the classroom to real life situations, enabling fraternity members to become better business leaders.

The emergence of a new fraternity at Georgetown hasn’t deterred Schilling from his belief that Delta Sigma Pi may one day return to Georgetown.

“We are hopeful to recharter a chapter down the road with students who are willing to follow the ideals and guidelines laid out by Delta Sigma Pi,” he said.