SALISBURY – Livingstone College freshmen will officially earn their rites of passage during Fall Convocation on Friday. The annual program begins at 10 a.m. at Varick Auditorium, where Bishop W. Darin Moore will be the keynote speaker.

The occasion honors the freshman class of Livingstone College, which will participate in a special ceremony, as well as recognizes the senior Class of 2020.

Moore is a member of the Livingstone College Board of Trustees and is presiding bishop of the Mid-Atlantic Episcopal District of the A.M.E. Zion Church, which includes Allegheny, Barbados, East Tennessee-Virginia, Guyana, Philadelphia-Baltimore, Ohio, St. Vincent and Virginia conferences.

A native of Mt. Vernon, N.Y., Bishop Moore began his college education at Livingstone College. He graduated from Purchase College in Purchase, N.Y., 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 Salisbury.

In July 2012, Bishop Moore was elevated to the episcopacy from Greater Centennial A.M.E. Zion Church, Mt. Vernon, NY, 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, Board of Trustees for Hood Theological Seminary, and is the treasurer of the Livingstone College Board of Trustees. He is also chairman of the National Council of Churches.

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

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

About Livingstone College

Livingstone College, founded and supported by the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church, is a private historically black institution located in Salisbury, N.C. Through a Christian-based environment suitable for learning, it provides excellent liberal arts and religious education programs for students from all ethnic backgrounds designed to develop their potential for leadership and service to a global community. For more information, visit www.livingstone.edu.