Academia doesn't have the same sort of centralized orthodoxy as the world religions, so I don't think an international coverup from academia is the right analog

Academia doesn't have the same sort of centralized orthodoxy as the world religions, so I don't think an international coverup from academia is the right analogy to look for. But if you drill down to the level where rigid hierarchy exists--the individual institution--there are many examples. See the way in which Penn State covered up the years of abuse by Jerry Sandusky in order to try to protect the reputation of their football program (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penn_State_child_sex_abuse_scandal https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penn_State_child_sex_abuse_sca...). Or the way in which Michigan State was negligent in their handling of Larry Nassar, a serial abuser of athletes (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USA_Gymnastics_sex_abuse_scandal https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USA_Gymnastics_sex_abuse_scand...). University of Michigan has a similar scandal of its own (https://www.npr.org/2022/01/19/1074071024/university-michigan-sexual-abuse-sports-doctor https://www.npr.org/2022/01/19/1074071024/university-michiga...). Unfortunately, I think there's little reason to believe this dynamic is limited to Big Ten universities.