The annual luncheon will be from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the University Club on Belknap Campus. Doors open at 11:15 a.m. Tickets are $50 each or $400 for a table of eight; to reserve tickets by the Nov. 7 deadline, call the Women鈥檚 Center at 502-852-8976.

Brinkley, the senior vice president of operations at Catholic Health Initiatives and president/CEO of KentuckyOne Health, will speak on 鈥淲omen Leaders: Leveraging the Power of Excellence and Influence.鈥

The Women鈥檚 Center selects as its luncheon speakers people who, through example and words, have the potential to empower the women in attendance.

At the luncheon, the Women鈥檚 Center will present its Women鈥檚 Empowerment Award to University Provost Shirley Willihnganz and Eleanor Jordan, executive director of the Kentucky Commission on Women.

Also at the event, the Women鈥檚 Center will honor winners of the 2013 Mary K. Tachau Gender Equity Award and the Dr. M. Celeste Nichols Professional Development Award. UofL鈥檚 Commission on the Status of Women sponsors the Tachau award to recognize a person who has worked to improve gender equity in the community. The university鈥檚 Commission on Diversity and Racial Equality and the Dennis C. Golden Torchbearer Endowment Program in the Division of Student Affairs sponsor the Nichols award to support academic or professional enrichment for graduate or professional students.