James “Jim” Stallings became director of the UT Dallas Chess Program in 2006. His current responsibilities include team recruiting, expanding chess in the greater Dallas area and administering the program components: The team, the club and the chess in education initiatives.

He joined the program in 2004 as associate director for chess and education. In this capacity, Stallings’ primary focus was outreach to the local area and state school districts in assisting them with chess instruction to improve their students’ academic performance.

A Dallas native, Stallings has played successfully in Texas and at collegiate chess events. He received his MBA in marketing from DePaul University in Chicago.

Luis Salinas joined the UT Dallas Chess Program in 2002. He graduated from Texas A&M University with a Bachelor of Science degree in electrical engineering.

While at TAMU, Salinas was president of the university’s chess club.

Rade Milovanovic, 2008 co-champion of the U.S. Open, joined the UT Dallas Chess Program in 1999. Milovanic carries an FIDE rating of 2400. He gained International Chess Master status in 1988. Milovanovic has more than 20 years of coaching experience.

Prior to coaching at UT Dallas, he graduated from Belgrade University’s law school in Serbia.

Charles Lilly is a communications specialist in the University's Office of Communications. He has a Bachelor's degree in Literary Studies from UT Dallas' School of Arts and Humanities.

Dr. Alexey Root is the author of Children and Chess: A Guide for Educators (Teacher Ideas Press, 2006). Root has a PhD in education from the University of California, Los Angeles (1999).

Since joining UT Dallas in 1999, Root has taught education classes, tutored prospective teachers for certification exams, supervised student teachers and created and taught online education courses that explore the uses of chess in classrooms.

Root teaches chess at elementary and middle schools, and at summer chess camps. Root was the winner of the 1989 U.S. Women’s Chess Championship.

Tim Redman is a professor of literary studies in the School of Arts and Humanities and the founder of the UT Dallas Chess Program. He was twice president of the U.S. Chess Federation and played as a member of the Pan American Intercollegiate Championship University of Chicago Chess Team in the 1970s.

He organized the Koltanowski Memorial International Conference on Chess and Education in 2001 and is a member of the World Chess Federation (FIDE) Chess in Schools Committee. After 10 years as program director, Redman stepped down in August 2006.