As university trustee, and its treasurer, he was credited with organizing an early form or "reorganization in bankruptcy"-Chicago University was reorganized, and its buildings and library preserved in what is currently the University of Chicago.
As university trustee, and its treasurer, he was credited with financially sustaining the university during its early years when its finances were precarious, at best. About twenty years after Woodworth's death, Old Chicago University was reorganized, and its buildings and library preserved in what is currently the University of Chicago.