A diplomat, a rugby player turned businessman and a poet and teacher will give the key addresses at three University of Otago graduation ceremonies this month.
More than 1800 students will graduate at ceremonies in the Dunedin Town Hall today, next Saturday and May 17, more than 1300 of them in person.
Speaking at today's ceremony is George Fergusson, the British High Commissioner to New Zealand and son of former governor-general Sir Bernard Fergusson, while next week's speaker is former All Black captain David Kirk, now chief executive of Australian-based Fairfax media group.
On May 17, it will be the turn of poet and teacher Cilla McQueen.
McQueen will also received an honorary doctorate of literature, joining a select group of New Zealand literary figures including Charles Brasch, Janet Frame, Ruth Dallas, Hone Tuwhare and Bill Manhire.
The dux of Columba College in 1965, McQueen graduated from Otago with an MA with first class honours in 1970.
She has won many scholarships and awards since and was the Burns Fellow at Otago in 1985 and 1986.
She lives in Bluff.
The university will hold eight graduation ceremonies this year, six in Dunedin and two in Invercargill.
Today's graduates are from the applied science, consumer and applied sciences, physical education, science and surveying schools, with next week's ceremony for commerce, tourism and law graduates.
Arts, education, music, teaching, theology, biomedical science, dentistry, health sciences, medicine, medical laboratory science, pharmacy and physiotherapy students will graduate on May 17.
