SALISBURY — Livingstone College freshmen will earn their rites of passage during fall convocation on Friday.

The annual program begins at 10 a.m. at Varick Auditorium, with Bishop W. Darin Moore as the keynote speaker.

The convocation honors members of the freshman class, who will participate in a special ceremony, and recognizes the senior class of 2020.

Moore is a member of the Livingstone board of trustees and is presiding bishop of the Mid-Atlantic Episcopal District of the AME Zion Church, which includes the Allegheny, Barbados, East Tennessee-Virginia, Guyana, Philadelphia-Baltimore, Ohio, St. Vincent and Virginia conferences.

A native of Mount Vernon, New York, Moore began his college education at Livingstone College. He graduated from Purchase College in Purchase, New York, with a bachelor of arts degree in psychology. He pursued his theological studies at Yale University Divinity School, obtaining his master of divinity from United Theological Seminary. He received his doctor of ministry degree from UTS as well as an honorary doctorate from Livingstone College.

In July 2012, Moore was elevated to the episcopacy from Greater Centennial AME Zion Church in Mount Vernon as the 99th bishop in succession. During his tenure as pastor of Greater Centennial, the congregation grew from a few hundred to more than 6,500 members.

He is a member of the World Methodist Council, a trustee of Hood Theological Seminary, and treasurer of the Livingstone College board. He is also chairman of the National Council of Churches.

Moore is founder and past president of the Greater Centennial Community Development Corp. and past president of Greater Centennial Homes, where he led in the construction of the James Varick Homes for first-time homebuyers, construction of Zion Court Apartments, and a $12 million renovation of Greater Centennial Homes.

He and his wife, Davieta C. Moore, have three children.