When Daniel Occhipinti was elected president of Beta Theta Pi in September 2003, his fraternity was on the verge of tanking. Beta Theta Pi had been cited for alcohol violations and had failed to meet the risk management standards required for its University endorsement.
“When I took the reins of this place, all of the mistakes of those who came before me fell upon my shoulders,” Occhipinti said. He said that, unlike past leaders, he had to take over without help from a predecessor to ease the transition because the former president had been removed from the fraternity.
Beta Theta Pi’s adviser John Steiner said it was Occhipinti who swayed the committee responsible for the fate of the fraternity.
“He was very articulate in convincing the committee,” Steiner said. “He articulated change that could occur and that he would be responsible for the change.”
Besides just convincing the committee, Occhipinti managed to get the rest of the remaining fraternity members on board to adopt the changes required to keep the fraternity open, which included complying with the University’s substance-free policy.
“(Occhipinti) inspired us to believe in the importance of the policies,” said Beta Theta Pi member and spokesperson Daniel Scheinman.
Ironically, when the substance-free policy was originally introduced in the fall of 2002, Occhipinti publicly criticized it.
“Since that time I’ve witnessed the benefits of the policies and have a completely different perspective on the entire thing,” he said. “The quality of life is dramatically improved, especially for our younger members.”
Since Beta Theta Pi’s brush with closure, the fraternity has experienced a “complete 180,” Scheinman said, adding that Occhipinti changed the focus of the house to “academics and leadership.”
But policy compliance wasn’t the only change Occhipinti set into motion. Occhipinti — who himself has a 4.14 cumulative GPA, earning him an ASUO Leadership Award — dedicated himself to improving the fraternity’s academic performance. He established mandatory “study tables,” or supervised study sessions, for younger members, offered greater incentives for members to get good grades, and encouraged older members to tutor and mentor younger members. Occhipinti himself tutors members in writing and test-taking skills. By winter term 2004, the house’s average GPA had jumped from roughly 2.7 to 3.12.
The house also went above and beyond in exceeding both their community service and philanthropy requirements, earning Occhipinti an ASUO Greek Leadership Award for Excellence in Community Service.
“Some people strive to meet the bar,” Scheinman said. “(Occhipinti) strives to set the bar.”
Scheinman said without Occhipinti’s leadership, Beta Theta Pi would no longer exist at the University.
“Eight months ago we were what the University did not want,” he said. “Now we are a model fraternity.”