The Steering Committee advises the Dean of Humanities on the overall direction of the grant and selection of the projects, as well as ensure that these projects are adequately supported. The committee also recommends curricular and programmatic strategies for integrating new initiatives with ongoing collaborative, interdisciplinary, and international research as well as the educational agenda at Duke, and suggests modifications to the strategies of implementation due to emerging intellectual trends and lessons learned from previous years of the grant. Finally, the committee members serve as ambassadors for Humanities Writ Large within and beyond Duke.

The steering committee changes each year of the grant. Each steering committee consists of: 6 – 8 faculty members from the Humanities or Interpretive Social Sciences,1 graduate student from the Humanities or Interpretive Social Sciences, and 1 undergraduate student from the Humanities or Interpretive Social Sciences.