Textbook Heroes

Shuai Sun

Assistant Professor
Chemistry

OER created: 

“Breaking Barriers: Diversity and Equity in Chemistry.” Sun created the textbook in collaboration with students and transformed the work to an Open Educational Resource (OER) with the support of KU Libraries. The textbook introduces important minority chemists and their research to students in introductory and General Chemistry courses, showing how chemistry interacts with modern society and affects human life every day.

A stepping stone: 

"In addition to being an educational resource, this book holds practical value within the classroom. Each chapter of the book includes carefully crafted reading questions that integrate chemistry and sociology concepts, making them ideal for inclusion in mid-term and final exams for chemistry courses. By integrating DEI-focused content into assessments, we hope to encourage students to think critically about the role of diversity and equity in chemistry and beyond. Ultimately, this book serves as a stepping stone toward a more inclusive and diverse chemistry education. By showcasing the contributions of minority chemists and integrating DEI principles into the learning process, we can inspire future generations of scientists to view chemistry as a field that is not only grounded in objective facts but also deeply interconnected with the broader human experience." - Shuai Sun, from the Introduction to "Breaking Barriers: Diversity and Equity in Chemistry"

Increasing educational opportunity: 

"Dr. Sun intuitively realized and leveraged so many of the benefits of OER, like the ability to fill existing gaps, address diversity, collaborate with students to create renewable content, and increase educational opportunity for all students in his courses. It has been an ideal collaboration, and our pleasure to support him and work with him.” - Josh Bolick, Head of the David Schulenburger Office of Scholarly Communication and Copyright