On a recent trip to Ghana with 20 Kellogg Graduate School of Management students, the villagers had a surprise for Edmund J. Wilson – they draped a yellow-and-brown tribal robe over his shoulders and crowned him chief of the village.

Wilson, Kellogg’s associate dean for student affairs, took the ceremony in stride – much like he has throughout his 30-year career, giving the business school a fun and friendly aspect.

Wilson, who will retire this June after 30 years at Kellogg, said he has tried to take this approach with students – letting them implement their own ideas while offering whatever help he could.

“One of the things I did was a adopt a positive attitude: you don’t say no,” Wilson said. “When they ask, I say ‘Why not?'”

In the process, Kellogg has changed from a “military boot camp” to a school that provides a life outside of the classroom for its students.

Over the same time period the school has grown in prestige from a mid-sized business school that mostly attracted aspiring Midwest business executives into an internationally renowned program often ranked in the top five in the country.

“What we did was try to recognize that educational institutions exist, in many ways, for students,” said Wilson, who is known around Kellogg for his brightly colored sweaters and humorous rapport with students. “Kellogg was the first MBA program really to try and create a co-curricular program. … We became No. 1 on that philosophy.”

Sitting in his office surrounded by various trinkets – including a photo of his head superimposed onto a “Baywatch” star, a recent marketing class project – Wilson remains modest about his success in the position. But students laud his work in the position and Kellogg’s extracurricular student life.

“We really do (have a great student life), and he’s a big part of the reason why,” said Joe Dziedzic, a first-year Kellogg student. “He’s truly the students’ dean. I think the students really respect his energy and enthusiasm and look to him as our support.”

Wilson started involving students in Kellogg life when he was associate dean of admissions in 1972 by letting students help screen candidates for admission.

With Wilson’s support, students have implemented ideas ranging from a student-managed honor code and course bidding to a Friday night “happy hour” and sports teams ranging from skiing to soccer.

Wilson attributes his success to good timing, an openness to student ideas for changes and always being there to support student ideas.

“When students have events, I’m there,” he said.

Dziedzic, who directed Kellogg’s musical revue Special K, said Wilson flew to San Francisco last year just to see the group perform.

Wilson also had a cameo in this year’s Special K film, “Not Another Special K Movie,” in which he caught several fictional prospective students breaking into the admissions office and then helped them change their files to gain acceptance to the school.

Wilson knows about student life for another reason: He got his MBA from Kellogg in 1985 through the weekend program. He also currently oversees the executive and part-time MBA programs.

“After 30 years, it’s harder for me to be creative,” he said. “This job needs someone who’s younger, who doesn’t need Geritol to stay energetic.”

After his retirement, Wilson plans to stay involved with Kellogg as an “ambassador at large,” a position where he will travel and speak on behalf of Kellogg.

His positive experience will help him promote the school, a philosophy he said would continue.

“If you want students to be good ambassadors for you,” he said, “you better treat them well.”