John Albert Vieg; Former Professor at Pomona College

John Albert Vieg, professor emeritus at Pomona College and a state constitutional scholar, died Friday at his Claremont home.

Vieg was 83 and had retired in 1970 but continued to teach some government courses at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona.

He had come to this area in 1945 and in 1946 was named chairman of Pomona College’s government department. By 1949 he had become the first director of the college’s Institute of Public Affairs.

After serving as visiting professor at the University of Oslo (1952) and the University of Delhi (1961) under separate Fulbright grants, he became the first visiting legislative research professor at University of California, Berkeley. He became a member of the California Constitution Revision Committee in 1963 and served until his 1970 academic retirement. The state Senate Rules Committee praised his “warmth, wit and wisdom” in a special award.

In addition to writing several articles over the years, he was author or co-author of four books: “Government and Politics of California,” “Elements of Public Administration,” “California Local Finance” and “Our Needy Aged.”

He remained active in Democratic Party organizations until his death, said a Pomona College spokesman.

Vieg is survived by his wife, Elizabeth, two sons, two grandchildren and a brother. Donations can be made to the John A. Vieg Memorial Fund for International Studies, Pomona College, Claremont 91711.