He has received numerous academic honors including a Fulbright Fellowship (Egypt, 1994) and a fellowship with the Consortium for Inter-Institutional Collaboration in African and Latin-American Studies at Michigan State University (1995-1996). In 1994, he founded the W.E.B. Du Bois Symposium and was awarded a grant for its support by the North Carolina Humanities Council in 1995.

He recently returned to the NCA&T campus after a one-year sabbatical with the United Negro College Fund Special Programs (UNCFSP). At the Global Center of UNCFSP he was Program Manager for the Education for Development and Democracy Initiative (EDDI) and the Director of the Institute for Latin America and the Caribbean.

Dr. Steele is co-editor of the text, American National and State Government: An African American View of the Return of Redemptionist Politics (Ames, Iowa: Kendall-Hunt, September, 1996). His recent publications include:

• "The Souls of the ‘Black Belt’ Revisited," in Critical Essays on WEB Du Bois’s Souls of Black Folk, edited by Dolan Hubbard (University of Missouri Press, 2003).
• 'Self-Directed' Activism Between The U.S. African And Afro-Brazilian Communities: On The Nature Of An Activist Relationship [A Response To Brazilian Activist Sueli Carneiro].  National Political Science Review.
  Spring 2003.

Dr. Steele writes and presents frequently on issues pertaining to race, gender, and class in the African Diaspora, most especially, in the area of Afro-Latin Politics. Among his contributions is his work documenting the important Race and Democracy Workshop in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil.

Among his many pursuits is his work toward the application of computer technology in the social sciences, as evident by his introduction and use of distance learning in his classes and in his professional obligations.
Beyond his teaching responsibilities and research interests, Dr. Steele is faculty advisor to the Henry Louis Frye Pre-Law Society and the Political Science Honors Society of NCA&T.

Dr. Steele is a past Secretary for the National Conference of Black Political Scientists (NCOBPS) and is a member of its Internet Technology Committee.