steir has received many public honors for her work. she was the recipient of individual artist (1973) and art in public institutions (1976) grants from the national endowment for the arts, and was awarded a guggenheim fellowship for fine arts in 1982. both of her alma maters have recognized her: pratt, with an honorary doctorate of fine art (1991) and a 2008 alumni achievement award for “outstanding graduates who have distinguished themselves in their fields," and boston university, with a distinguished alumni award (2001). in 2016, steir was elected a member of the american academy of arts and letters.