Charles Rudolph Walgreen Jr (March 4, 1906 – February 10, 2007) was the son of Charles Rudolph Walgreen, the founder of Walgreen drug stores.
Walgreen fils started out as a buyer for the company but eventually took over the company after the death of his father in 1939. He remained president of Walgreens until 1969, presiding over the the company's most intense growth as well as the beginning of its decline. As head of the company he continued to build new and bigger stores, encouraged new product lines and oversaw the final conversion of every store in the chain to self service. He relinquished his role in the company in 1969 to his son Charles Rudolph Walgreen III.
Walgreen graduated in 1938 from the University of Michigan College of Pharmacy, where he was also a member of Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity. Later he became deeply involved with Rotary International, a service club. One of his most enduring contributions to the company that his father founded was the "Four-Way Test", written by a Rotarian friend and adapted for Walgreens in 1955. Based on the ethical business principles he learned from his father, these four questions are the foundation of what they call "The Walgreen Way":
- Is it the truth?
- Is it fair to all concerned?
- Will it build goodwill and better friendship?
- Will it be beneficial to all concerned?
Shortly before he died in 2007 at the age of 100, he donated ten million dollars to the University of Michigan. That gift provided the means to build the Walgreen Drama Center (including the Arthur Miller Theater) located on the university's North Campus in Ann Arbor.
Web
- Walgreens timeline
- UM President's Address on naming of Walgreen Drama Center
- Wikipedia: Charles Rudolph Walgreen, Jr.
In the News
- Charles Rudolph Walgreen Jr dies at 100 (February, 2007)