With a heavy heart, we relay the sad news of the death of our colleague and friend, Dr. Sheila Manka, who was employed as a Senior Lecturer at Mpumalanga University, and prior to that she taught part time at North West University, in South Africa. Sheila was a member of the Executive Committee of RC40 (Sociology of Agriculture and Food Research Group of the International Sociological Association), and she was the RC40 Regional Representative to Africa. Sheila recently succeeded in creating a Working Group on agrifood and rural sociology within the South African Sociological Association, and she served as the inaugural Chair of this group. In 2023, Sheila co-organized an early career workshop for rural and agrifood researchers, which again reflects her generous spirit and her professional ambitions to strengthen intellectual engagement and policy-relevant research focused around food, development, and justice. Sheila leaves behind her husband and three children, and she will be sorely missed by family, friends and colleagues.
Our condolences to the family, friends and colleagues of Sheila. She will be remembered for her generous work and support building community in the sociology of agriculture and food. We were lucky to have her on the executive of the RC40 of the International Sociological Association, and she will be missed.
ISA RC40 Executive Committee