Teesside University - History

History

While it was clear enough that, when the time came for a successor to the Middlesbrough-based Mechanics' Institute of 1844, a new technical college was in order, a shortage of funding long proved a barrier to any such plan. The College's launch could otherwise have come as early as 1914. Even after the donation of £40,000 to build the college from local shipping magnate Joseph Constantine in 1916, progress was slow. A Governing Council took place in 1922, followed by a doubling of the original financial offer by the Constantine family in 1924. For the task of constructing the first Technical College building, Mr Graham R. Dawbarn (a London architect also responsible for additions to Corpus Christi College, Cambridge) was appointed on 29 March 1926. Building work finally kicked into action in 1927, culminating in the beginning of enrolment and teaching formalities on 16 September 1929. But the fanfare had to wait, until the turn of the decade, in order to accommodate the royal schedule.

Constantine Technical College was nonetheless finally opened on 2 July 1930 by the future King Edward VIII, the Prince of Wales. Although not yet a university, from the outset, Constantine was both a further and higher education college. While at one end of the spectrum students at Constantine could be as young as 15, also publicised in its Prospectus were degree courses validated by the University of London. Star disciplines included metallurgy, engineering and chemistry. Five rooms were also reserved for an art department, until cramped accommodation forced the School of Art to split from its parent site for the 1950s.

The 1960s were years of sweeping change – as well as political sting – for the still comparatively fledgling College. By the end of the decade the first two "Teesside University" campaigns had begun: the first, from the early 1960s to 1966, and the second, from 1967 to 1972, spates of enthusiasm killed off on each occasion only by the scepticism of then-Minister of Education, Anthony Crosland, and Margaret Thatcher's defining White Paper, respectively. The latter effectively shelved plans for the erection of any new institution in the United Kingdom, until the 1980s at least.

On campus, one of the most visible major developments for the College was an extension comprising an 11-storey "skyscraper", on which construction work began in 1963. The College acquired the neighbouring former High School of 1877. The College briefly restyled itself Constantine College of Technology, before becoming a polytechnic (Britain's 13th) in 1969. At that point, the institution boasted 17 degree courses.

A merger with Teesside College of Education took place in the 1970s along with the purchase of Flatts Lane. The Clarendon Building was added in 1973, as was the Stephenson Building in 1976, with both remaining in use for the Polytechnic's long-awaited conversion into a University. That happened on 16 June 1992, when Teesside Polytechnic became one of the United Kingdom's first new universities, following that year's Further and Higher Education Act.

By the 1990s student numbers were nearing the 8,000 mark, but only in 1997 was the old Polytechnic's library replaced, by a Learning Resource Centre. Subsequent additions included the Virtual Reality Centre and Centre for Enterprise, as well as, more recently, the Phoenix and Athena Buildings. Today, historic structures such as the old High School (the Waterhouse building), the Constantine building and Victoria Building of 1891 (a schoolyard-equipped Victorian school, housing a series of graduate business incubator units), are all Grade II listed buildings.

In 2009, the University of Teesside changed its name to "Teesside University", changed its logo and adopted the motto "Inspiring success" as part of a rebrand that cost £20,000. Alternative names also suggested included "Middlesbrough University" and "Tees Valley University".

On 15 October 2009, Teesside University was elected University of the Year and Outstanding Employer Engagement Initiative in the Times Higher Education Awards.