 For the final six years of his time at the University of Oxford, from 1967 to 1973, he was the Public Orator; a role in which he acted as the voice of the university during public occasions such as royal visits and the presentation of honorary degrees.Following his retirement in 1973, Hardie and his wife moved away from Oxford to Rackham Cottage, near the village of Pulborough, Sussex.From 1971 to 1990, he was the Royal Academy's Honorary Professor of Ancient Literature.