Cheryl A. Stanton joined the College of Saint Benedict and Saint John’s University as its first General Counsel and Corporate Secretary to the Boards of Trustees in December 2021. Stanton oversees the provision of legal services to CSB and SJU and provides executive and confidential assistance, and legal and strategic guidance, to the presidents and boards of CSB and SJU. Stanton will also serve as the Title IX Coordinator for CSB and SJU.

Stanton brings over 24 years of legal experience to the position. She has a unique blend of general counsel and complex litigation experience. Prior to joining CSB and SJU, she was the chief legal officer, general counsel and corporate secretary to BNCCORP, INC. and BNC National Bank, a $1 billion financial institution, and also served as a director on the BNC National Bank Board of Directors. Prior to joining BNC, Stanton was a partner with Anthony Ostlund, Baer & Louwagie, LLP where she practiced complex commercial litigation representing public companies, including Fortune 500, privately held, and private equity companies and their portfolio companies, individuals, and families, as plaintiffs and defendants.

Stanton obtained her Juris Doctorate from Hamline University School of Law in St. Paul, Minnesota. She completed her undergraduate degree from the University of Minnesota in the Twin Cities.

Stanton has deep family ties to CSB and SJU. Her brother Christopher Stanton (SJU ’83), his wife Deniz [Aksoy] Stanton (CSB ’85), nephew Joe Stanton (SJU ‘16) and his wife, Libby [Pritchard] Stanton (CSB ’17), and nephew Tommy Stanton (SJU ’18) and his fiancé Andrea Loftus (CSB ’18) are graduates. She is thrilled to join this family legacy. 

Stanton is an avid motorcycle rider. She is a former director and a current member of Street Legal Motorcycle Club, a motorcycle club of judges, lawyers and other legal professionals. In addition, she loves to travel and hike having recently completed an 18 mile “out and back” to the basin of the Grand Canyon, 51 miles in the Dolomites and will soon hike the Salkantay Trail to Machu Picchu.