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 Refinery On site there is a canteen, an active sports and social club and People SPIRIT team who organise a variety of activities. When owned by ConocoPhillips they continually funded technical apprenticeship schemes in the area, and were directly involved in local primary and secondary school education. Initiatives ranged from donating computers and funding school exchange programmes, to providing engineers for maths and science days. The Teesside terminal is accredited (certified) to ISO 14001, the international environmental management system standard, which it has held continuously since October 1998. The site is on the fringe of the estuary mudflats of Seal Sands,