F&M students An Bach, Sarah Chapla, and Thao Nguyen created this film as part of the Motion Picture Production I course during the Fall 2023 semester.

Lillian Basom ’08 loved Franklin & Marshall’s vivarium so much that she never left. In fact, she has been the director of operations since 2011. 

“The vivarium is this beautiful gem in the crown that is F&M,” said Basom, who worked as a research liaison at the facility before accepting the director role. She is also an educator at ZooAmerica North American Wildlife Park in nearby Hershey.

The campus vivarium is a non-invasive behavioral research facility that houses a variety of rodents, reptiles, birds, fish, invertebrates and nonhuman primates (capuchin monkeys). 

F&M is one of the only institutions in the country offering undergraduate students direct access to onsite nonhuman primates through an established program built around training, enrichment and animal caretaking. 

"The vivarium is this beautiful gem in the crown that is F&M."

Lillian Basom ’08

“There are very few facilities that offer undergraduate students that kind of hands-on, experiential learning right from the moment they step on campus,” Basom said. 

In fact, student volunteers and paid workers are essential to its operation. “The facility and our programming, which supports up to 80 students a semester, wouldn't exist without the commitment of our incredible students,” said Basom, who majored in biological foundations of behavior (now animal behavior) at F&M.

Basom also praised Richelle Wagner, assistant director of operations at the vivarium, who has unwaveringly taken care of F&M's animals for nearly 27 years. 

Below, learn more about Basom’s life as director. 

Why did you choose to attend F&M? 

I was really interested in the animal behavior program. During my tour, a kind admissions staff member made arrangements for me to visit the animal facility. As soon as I saw the monkeys and the caretaker cleaning their enclosure and feeding them, I knew that I only wanted to go to F&M. I've loved F&M so much that I've never left. I've been on campus, and with the exact same monkeys I saw that day, for almost 22 years! 

Describe a day in your life as director of operations for F&M's vivarium. 

I spend the majority of my days making sure that the animals and the students are both living their best lives here in the vivarium. I make sure our mission stands true to the phrase: “Our quality of care is their quality of life.” 

Animal care and welfare comes first and foremost, so most mornings are spent making sure students and staff are providing best-practice animal care to the variety of critters that call the vivarium home. 

My afternoons are typically spent focusing on the student's experiential learning by scheduling and overseeing our training and enrichment programs. I also spend a lot of time managing budgets, schedules, facility upkeep and care, and record keeping with a focus on how to always strive for the betterment of our facility and student experience. 

What are your favorite things about this career? What are the biggest challenges? 

I always knew I wanted to work with animals, but I wasn't sure how when I was younger. I thought about being a vet, then an animal trainer, then a zookeeper. But when I was offered the opportunity to create a training and enrichment program from scratch, I realized I could do all of those things right here in F&M's vivarium. My favorite part of my career is teaching the next generation about animal care, animal training, welfare for animals, and how to make sure that animals are thriving in human care. I'm able to do all of my dream jobs through our programming here in the vivarium. 

The biggest challenges are compassion fatigue and burnout from working around the clock with animals, some of which have special needs or are geriatric. Loving and caring for animals is a 24/7 job. Animals need care 365 days of the year and sometimes care can get complicated. It's critical to have good support and establish a good home and work life balance – something easier said than done.

Do you have a favorite animal at the vivarium?

One of our capuchin monkeys, Marcel. He is the oldest monkey we have at almost 31 years old and I've known him for 22 years. He and I genuinely have a wonderful friendship and are thrilled to hang out when we have the opportunity. He's always the first one to greet me and the last to say goodbye to me when I'm leaving. I am thankful every single day for the opportunity to have such a wonderful job working with all of our monkeys, but especially with Marcel.