The Women's Center opened its doors on July 1, 1991 in the basement of MacMillan Hall with two full-time staff and several student volunteers, a small operating budget and resource collection and a mixture of new and donated furniture. This was not the first Women's Center at Miami. A Women's Resource Center operated for about five years in the late 1970s under the auspices of the Division of Student Affairs. When that first center closed its doors, a part-time staff position and small programming budget enabled Student Affairs to continue a focus on issues of special concern to female students. The position-coordinator of women's programs-continued until the current Women's Center was established.

Establishment of a women's center was one of 57 recommendations for improving the status of and climate for women at Miami issued in 1989 by the President's Commission on Improvement of the Status of Female Faculty, Staff and Students.

The Commission found evidence of women being overlooked, undervalued, harassed and discriminated against. The Commission Report also cited women feeling unsupported and discouraged by the "relative under valuation of programs which focus on women's issues...as compared to like colleges and universities." The Commission recommended expansion of support programs for women, including establishment of a women's center. The response from the administration was that "such a center is an appropriate step...in order to provide a central focus for women and for women's concerns." The very existence of a center can be an important symbol for the understanding and willingness to address concerns of individuals who make up a substantial part of the Miami population.

Julia Sterkovsky served as the Center’s first director from 1991-1996. The Center’s second director, Karen Hall, headed the office from 1996-1999. Jane Goettsch became the Center’s third director in 1999.

At the end of Spring Semester 2001, following a year-long review, the Women’s Center Policy and Management Council recommended a change in the governing structure of the Center and the director’s reporting line effective July 1, 2001 . The Center became part of the Academic Affairs Division and the director reported to the Provost’s Office, with a dotted line to Student Affairs. This change gave the Women’s Center an administrative home and two strong institutional advocates in the Provost and the Vice President for Student Affairs.

In March 2002 the Women’s Center moved from the basement of MacMillan Hall to the old Wells Hall dining room, while MacMillan underwent an 18-month renovation. In July 2003, the Women’s Center moved back to MacMillan Hall in a beautifully restored space on the second floor.

The Women's Center underwent its first formal program review during the 2006-07 academic year.  The external reviewer noted that the Miami University Women's Center "seems to exemplify some of the very best qualities of a top tier Women's Center." and described Miami's Women's Center as "one of the top Women's Centers in the country."

The Women's Center was relocated to the Division of Student Affairs effective July, 2009 so that it could focus more on students and develop synergies with the Office of Diversity Affairs.  As part of this relocation, two members of the Office of Diversity Affairs -- Dr. Juanita Tate (Divisional Diversity Initiatives) and Ms. Demere Woolway (LGBT Services) -- have their offices in the Women's Center.