 In 1879, Judge Robert Maclay Widney established a board of trustees to create a new university.Hellman joined the businessman Ozro W. Childs and the former Governor of California John G. Downey in donating valuable land and an endowment to found the University of Southern California.In 1881, Hellman was appointed a Regents of the University of California to fill the unexpired term of D.O.