 Richardson spoke out about how the membership policies interfered with fundraising and the message of the university.In 2014, just before the referendum on Scottish independence, it was revealed that Professor Richardson had resisted pressure by then First Minister Alex Salmond to tone down her comments on the impact of Scottish independence on research universities, and resisted pressure from an aide to Salmond to issue a statement praising the SNP government.On 28 May 2015, the University of Oxford announced that Professor Richardson had been nominated as the next Vice-Chancellor, subject to approval, to take up the post on 1 January 2016.