Humanities pro vice chancellor Prof Brian Moloughney spoke at the graduation ceremony of the ''special'' relationship between the university and Dunedin.
''The hospitality of the people of Dunedin, the generosity which they extend to you as students, even when you test that hospitality, as you surely do at times, that hospitality is rare and something to be valued.
''Very few universities enjoy such a close relationship with the city of which they are a part,'' he said.