[7] In addition to his work on small animals, Guilford along with others highlighted the risks to New Zealand's biosecurity, biodiversity and public health posed by the introduction of exotic dung beetles.

[8][9] Guilford served for 10 years as the Foundation Head of the Institute of Veterinary, Animal and Biomedical Sciences at Massey University.

[18] Over the same period, student numbers increased from 16,901 (EFTS) to 18,241, partly due to the growth in engineering and the establishment of a Faculty of Health along with the on going popularity of the humanities.

[24] During his time as Vice-Chancellor, the university added a new science building, Te Toki a Rata and a postgraduate student and administration block, Maru.

The Campus was sold for an undisclosed sum (the land was valued in excess of $20 million) to Ryman for the purposes of making a retirement village.

[31] However, Guilford noted that the university had spent around $21 million upgrading the campus and had invested the proceeds of the sale in seismic strengthening and a scholarship programme for students from low decile schools in Wellington.

[32] Six years after being moved to the Kelburn campus from Karori, Victoria University of Wellington's Education staff were still being housed in what they had been told was "temporary" student accommodation.

[35] In December 2021, the Tertiary Education Union representative said that "short-term" and "careless" decisions from the senior leadership team had caused "lasting damage" to relationships with staff.

Guilford acknowledged the pressure the combination of cost-cutting and increased workload had placed on staff and students during the pandemic but maintained it was important for the university not to 'kick the can down the road'.

He used a speech at the university's Christmas party in 2020 to announce that because insufficient staff had taken redundancy, "unfortunately, therefore, it's looking increasingly likely that to fulfil our commitments to kaitiakitanga and intergenerational responsibility, we will be facing hard decisions early next year.

[40] In September 2020 Armstrong assessed the performance of the university's Senior Leadership Team, awarding them grades for courses including "Ethics" (D−), "Branding 101" (E) and "Management 101" ("F for Fiasco").

"[43] Victoria University of Wellington divested itself from fossil fuels and implemented a five-point plan to reduce carbon emissions during Guilford's tenure as Vice-Chancellor.

[47][48] He was the recipient of the Australasian Green Gown Award for sustainability leadership and now spends most of his time on two conservation blocks he owns with his wife.

[49][51][52][53] He was replaced by Acting Vice-Chancellor Jennifer Windsor, who in her first message to staff immediately announced a "re-set" and a "pause" of one-third of the strategic projects Guilford had pursued as university priorities.