". . . I wasn't the only one, she also used other people's works for other grants and sometimes went on to present some of those works on campus. And all that to adjuncts. I was just being careful with new people, because I was disappointed with old ones."
If the presenter did not acknowledge her indebtedness to the original writer or thinker, it ain't "mentoring" ; rather, it is called "intellectual shoplifting." Bet she gets all the credit.
You're conflating the current chair with the previous one. Larry C was referring to the OP's current chair, who
hasn't stolen adjuncts' work.
Such clever theft often occurs during a job interview where the interviewee (an expert in, say, retention, assessment, or fund-raising, for instance) is asked to "share" his/her expertise so that the interviewing institution can benefit from hu's ideas, but hu is not the one hired. Later, hu can see how the institution has implemented its practice according to hu's original ideas and suggestions. (Let's assume other candidates, lacking real-life experience and expertise did not suggest any of them).
I suppose we could make that assumption, but it would be pretty ridiculous. Why would someone without experience or expertise be a viable candidate in the first place? Another, much more plausible explanation, and one that I expect that is far more common, is that many people have similar ideas about what to do in any given situation.
You are extraordinarily paranoid.