J. A. McCauley was a journalism professor at University of Kentucky for 30 years between 1946 and 1976. He started his journalism career as editor of Cynthiana Democrat and Central Record, Lancaster, following seven years as a high school teacher. McCauley became a reporter for the Lexington Herald in 1942; he was editorial writer for 20 years. He joined the UK Department of Journalism staff in 1946 and later served as associate chairman. McCauley directed the Kentucky High School Press Clinic, founded and served as executive secretary for the Kentucky Council for Education in Journalism, and founded Henry Watterson Press Club, which obtained Sigma Delta Chi charter. He advised student journalism groups and student publications. He was a coauthor of Learning About Mass Communications in 1972, Modern Journalism in 1962, and edited News Manual and Stylebook in 1964. McCauley completed a journalism degree from the University of Missouri in 1930 and obtained a Master of Arts at the University of Kentucky in 1948. He is listed in Who’s Who in American Education.