Teesside University 2015, the university acquired Teesside Central, adding 75 en-suite apartments to its accommodation portfolio. This accommodation is known as Central Halls. Middlesbrough Institute of Modern Art, or mima, is a contemporary art gallery in the centre of Middlesbrough. It is run in partnership with Teesside University. Teesside University has won seven National Teaching Fellowships. The Vice-Chancellor is Professor Paul Croney, who took up the position in May 2015 when Professor Graham Henderson retired. In April 2005, the University welcomed Lord Sawyer as its Chancellor, succeeding the University's first ever Chancellor, European Commissioner Leon Brittan. Teesside University's research is focused on
Teesside of approximately 492,954 people. Teesside industry is dominated by the commodity and in many instances, integrated chemical producers of the Northeast of England Process Industry Cluster (NEPIC). These companies are based on three large chemical sites around the mouth of the River Tees at Wilton, Billingham and Seal Sands. These companies make products such as petrochemicals, commodity chemicals, fertilizers and polymers. Teesport is based on the River Tees and is currently the third largest port in the United Kingdom, and amongst the ten biggest in Western Europe. This port handles over 56 million tonnes of goods per annum which are