Ryan Calabretta-Sajder, associate professor of Italian and director of International and Global Studies, was named chief reader of the College Board's Advanced Placement examination in Italian Language and Culture. Calabretta-Sajder first joined the AP Italian team as a development committee member in 2018.

He served as a higher education member until being promoted to the higher education co-chair in 2020, serving the maximum amount of time allowed, three years. In 2023, he was named chief reader designate and moved into his current position as chief reader in July 2024. He is currently in Cleveland, Ohio, overseeing his first reading in his new role. He will serve in this role for four years.

The AP program consists of 40 various programs. The AP Italian Language and Culture Examination is a nationally recognized examination which awards high school students college credit. The AP Italian Examination tests students at the intermediate level of language proficiency.

The examination consists of a multiple choice section, a multiple choice section with audio sources, a free written response section and a free spoken response section. The examination is written by a team of high school and university faculty and is annually scored by readers who teach the AP Italian course in the high school, or who teach Italian language courses at a college or university.