Under Xi Jinping’s administration, ideological control in China has been tightened and political dissent has become increasingly difficult. Universities are a natural target of such control. What can professors do, then? Our research in one university in northern China finds that professors have multifaceted identities and engage in synchronous political roles as establishment/organic, non-establishment/professional and contra-establishment/critical intellectuals, although most take on the first two roles. Their academic freedom is indeed greatly restricted, but this does not rule out the possibility of “obedient autonomy” or creative dissent. Our research is based on 36 interviews with professors, students and administrators from various departments of this provincial university and on an analysis of the faculty’s teaching and research. This paper aims to contribute to the sociology of intellectuals and the sociology of higher education by illuminating how professors, as intellectuals, engage in contemporary Chinese political discourse and strive for academic freedom to the greatest extent possible.