Richards would be a dynamic force for the Geology Department, the Faculty of Science and the University during its early years. In 1919, Richards became the University's first geology professor. He was Dean of the Faculty of Science, President of the Board of Faculties, President of the Staff Association, on the University Senate, Chairman of Public Exams Committee, Music Advisory Board and many others. In 1946, Richards was Professor of Geology, Deputy Chancellor of the university, Chairman of Trustees of the National Art Gallery, President of the Art Galleries and Museums Association of Australia and New Zealand, Chairman of the Great Barrier Reef Committee and many others. He led geology camps to Spicer's Gap and the Great Barrier Reef. His wife would be a chaperone for the female students, on many camps and dances held at the fledgling University. Dorothy Hill would become one of the students of the Geology Department in 1925, and found him to be a great mentor of the Science students. He encouraged her to apply for a Foundation Travelling Scholarship to the University of Cambridge in 1929, which she won.