This article reports on the launching of the Revans Academy for Action Learning and Research at Manchester Business School on 26 November 2008. The goal of the Academy is to foster the development of action learning as a unifying framework within Manchester Business School. Its goal is to provide a hub for dialogue, collaboration, exploitation and innovation in the field of action learning, and to work with colleagues from across the realms of education and business to secure innovative teaching, pioneering research and organisational improvement learning. There is, of course, a certain irony in this event, since in 1965 Reg Revans resigned his chair at the University of Manchester amidst negotiations over the new "Manchester Business School". This recent inauguration sought to reconcile some of the tensions that had preceded Revans' resignation by seeking to embrace, and connect, a wide array of renowned speakers from across both sides of the theory/practice divide and an audience inclusive of members from various nations, occupations and interests. The day built on this diversity and inclusivity by exploring action learning and its relationship to both change on multiple levels and to allied developmental approaches, including appreciative inquiry, strategic management and leadership.