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CJ Libassi

Senior Research Assistant and PEAR Fellow

CJ Libassi is a senior research assistant at CCRC, where he focuses on college access and financial aid. Prior to joining CCRC, Libassi worked in research and policy at the College Board, the Center for American Progress, and the University of Michigan’s Education Policy Initiative. Before that, he taught English in a secondary school in Madrid as a Fulbright English Teaching Assistant and foreign language in Prince George’s County Public Schools as a Teach For America corps member.

Libassi holds a BA in English, Spanish, and philosophy from the University of Scranton, a master of arts in teaching from American University, and a master of public policy from the University of Michigan. He is currently a PhD student and PEAR fellow in economics and education at Teachers College, Columbia University.

October 2025

Who Rides Out the Storm? The Immediate Post-College Transition and its Role in Socioeconomic Earnings Gaps

Using administrative data from a large, urban, public college system, this paper documents large gaps in earnings five years after graduation by SES and the extent to which differences in the first job transition can explain these gaps.
May 2022

The Fine Print on Free College: Who Benefits From New York’s Excelsior Scholarship?

Using data on students enrolled in two- and four-year colleges of the City University of New York, this essay assesses the distribution of benefits of the scholarship program in terms of who qualifies for, receives, and renews awards.

Recent Publications

October 2025

Who Rides Out the Storm? The Immediate Post-College Transition and its Role in Socioeconomic Earnings Gaps

May 2022

The Fine Print on Free College: Who Benefits From New York’s Excelsior Scholarship?

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