BREAKING: Penn has rejected the White House’s proposed preferential funding compact, according to a Thursday email to the University community.The Oct. 16 message, authored by Penn President Larry Jameson, comes after the Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education — initially offered to Penn and eight other universities on Oct. 1 — received swift condemnation from across the Penn community. With the decision, Penn becomes the third university to decline the offer.“Earlier today, I informed the U.S. Department of Education that Penn respectfully declines to sign the proposed Compact,” the Oct. 16 email read. “As requested, we also provided focused feedback highlighting areas of existing alignment as well as substantive concerns.”This story is developing and will continue to be updated.Read more about Penn's response at the link in our bio.Reporter: @a_dash29 and @isha._cPhoto: @chenyao.photos