CCHS is charged with enhancing humanistic scholarship, research, creative activity, teaching, and public awareness at the University of Louisville, in the Louisville metropolitan area and, in collaboration with other universities, colleges, and humanities organizations throughout the Commonwealth of Kentucky.

Since 1997, CCHS has enacted this mission by offering a variety of programs for faculty and community-based groups with humanities-based missions. Some CCHS programs focus internally on faculty research, such as supporting fellowships, publications, lectures, and conferences. Other CCHS programs are designed to engage with the public and with other cultural centers within the city and the Commonwealth, such as through sponsored programs and internships. CCHS especially encourages interdisciplinary and collaborative projects both within UofL and with other colleges and universities, public schools, museums, arts groups, and humanities-based organizations.