He served in military intelligence in the United States Navy for several years, before finishing his PhD work at the University of Illinois in 1959.
Wilson worked for the CIA for several years in the 1960s before deciding to devote himself to teaching and writing.
He also wrote several science fiction novels, and served as a consulting editor for the Journal of Higher Education.
This prompted Wilson to demand that the local police actively intervene in the parties, shutting them down by force.
He also asked the ROTC to leave the campus, after a resolution passed by the school's faculty senate.