Hood had proposed to reform the 900-year-old tradition of complete self-governance by introducing a number of external members to council, and by separating academic and financial boards.

[15] Hood stated that he would not treat the defeat as a vote of no confidence, citing a need to "put aside division, continue dialogue with all shades of opinion and, in an atmosphere of trust, tolerance and goodwill, promote the academic aims and ideals of Oxford".

[19] Lord Patten of Barnes stated in December 2006 that without reforms to Oxford's governance it would be more difficult to raise money he said was needed by the university, particularly with respect to needs-based funding to support students from poorer backgrounds.

[2] Maxton was chosen for the position of Registrar by way of a selection committee including consultants, external members of council, and the vice-chancellor of Cambridge.

[2] Comparisons were drawn with Lawrence Summers, the 27th President of Harvard University, who announced his resignation on 21 February 2006 following two motions of censure.

[2] Although individual academic staff were critical of Hood,[20] no formal motions were brought forward calling for his resignation.

[22] In June 2007 it was revealed that the university press office had been monitoring and editing comments in Hood's Wikipedia article in an attempt to protect his reputation.

[32] In January 2012, the board of global private education provider Study Group appointed John Hood as chairman.

[33] In the 2014 Queen's Birthday Honours, Hood was appointed a Knight Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit (KNZM) for services to tertiary education.