The Affirmative Action Office evolved out of the University's Affirmative Action Program, formulated in June 1970, in order to increase employment of minorities and females within the University. Yvonne Theodore was appointed Affirmative Action Officer in August 1971, and was under the jurisdiction of Joseph Rumburger, Director of Personnel Services and Director of Equal Employment Opportunity Programs.

In 1979, the Affirmative Action Office was placed under the administration of the Provost's Office; the functions of the Office, however, did not change. Yvonne Theodore was both a regular and "ex officio" member of the various divisional Affirmative Action committees at different times, as well as a member of the University wide committee. The divisional committees at the various schools were formed so that members of the faculty and staff could advise the Deans. These committees monitored and directed Affirmative Action programs within each division to make sure that the University continually made a "good faith effort" to recruit and hire females and minorities. Where federal monies were involved, the Office was required, at various times, to submit Equal Employment Opportunity Reports to the Federal Department of Health and Human Services (formerly known as the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare) documenting progress being made by the University on the basis of the reports by the divisional committees.

On occasion, people believing they were being discriminated against on the basis of sex, religion, or national origin in regard to hiring, salaries, promotion, or termination bring a complaint against the University to such agencies as the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the Maryland State Commission on Human Relations and the Baltimore and Washington, DC, Commission on Human Relations. The Affirmative Action Office often works with University Counsel in the role of the University's agent, defending University actions and working to reach an equitable settlement.