Pedro Díaz Seijas was a noted Venezuelan writer, scholar, essayist, and literary critic. He was a member of many cultural organizations in Venezuela and abroad and served as the director of the Venezuelan Royal Academy of Language and Director of Cultural Affairs at Simón Rodríguez University in Caracas. He did his studies at the Instituto Pedagógico de Caracas and Universidad Central de Venezuela.

Pedro Díaz Seijas is the author of more than twenty books, among them Al margen de la literatura venezolana (1946), Introducción al estudio del ensayo en Venezuela (1947), Orientaciones y tendencias de la novela venezolana (1949), Rómulo Gallegos: Realidad y símbolo (1965), La gran narrativa latinoamericana (1976), and Historia y antología de la literatura venezolana (2 vols., 1981).

Professor Manuel Díaz-Campos, the son of Pedro Díaz Seijas, has established an annual $500 scholarship in his name. The scholarship may be used to help defray the costs of study abroad or the costs associated with the pursuit of the major (e.g., books). It may be used throughout the academic year. Application are due the Monday following spring break. Please submit to Jane Drake: jmdrake@indiana.edu), GISB 2160.

Selection criteria:

• Major in Spanish (declared majors in the College of Arts and Sciences at Indiana University Bloomington)
• Applicants should be current sophomores or juniors
• Cumulative GPA of at least 3.00
• Demonstrated financial need, shown via current scholarship allocation from OneStart
• Applicants should submit to Jane Drake (see below) a one-page essay related to their interest in Latin American literature. The essay should also indicate how the scholarship could help them achieve their goals. Applicants may choose to write the essay in Spanish or English, although Spanish is preferred.
• Students planning to use the scholarship for study abroad should also submit the acceptance notification from OVST for their particular program.