Matthew C. Comstock, MBA, MHSA
Chief Operating Officer, Medical School
About
Matthew C. Comstock, MBA, MHSA, serves as the Executive Director for Administration and Chief Operating Officer (COO) of the University of Michigan Medical School. In this role, he is responsible for the planning, organization, and evaluation of administrative operations to ensure alignment with the school’s strategic priorities. He oversees a $2.5 billion all-funds operating portfolio and ensures that the resources and infrastructure necessary to support the Medical School’s tripartite mission of education, research, and clinical care are effectively in place.
Comstock acts as the primary administrative liaison between the Dean’s Office and leadership across academic departments, centers, and institutes. He sits on multiple institutional leadership bodies, including the Dean’s Cabinet and the Dean’s Advisory Council, chairs senior administrative networks, and serves as a long-standing executive preceptor for Michigan Medicine’s Administrative Fellowship and Internship programs.
Before his current role, he held numerous leadership positions in finance, strategy, and operations within the Medical School and Michigan Medicine, most recently as the school’s Senior Finance Executive. He began his University of Michigan career in 2000 at the Center for Health Care Economics within the Stephen M. Ross School of Business.
He holds a BBA and MBA, both with High Distinction, from the University of Michigan Ross School of Business, as well as a Master of Health Services Administration (MHSA) from the U-M School of Public Health.
In addition to his administrative leadership, Comstock is a committed educator. For more than 16 years, he has served as a lecturer in the Health Management and Policy Department at the School of Public Health, where he teaches healthcare financial accounting and management. He also teaches the Michigan Medicine Introductory Field Experience for first-year MHSA students and the Integrated Learning Experience, a capstone course for second-year students.
He further contributes as a lecturer in the Department of Learning Health Sciences within the Medical School, where he provides instruction in the Strategic Management and Leadership for Physicians program, focusing on core concepts in corporate finance and accounting for clinician-leaders.
Get to Know
What inspired you to pursue a career in this field?
My mother was a pediatric ICU nurse at the University of Nebraska. I recall growing up having Thanksgiving dinner at the hospital, and admiring not only my mother, but all those who served to make the community a better place. In college I studied business but always knew that a nonprofit academic healthcare organization with a strong mission was where I wanted to be. Two weeks after graduating college I started working at U-M and haven’t looked back. I can think of no better place to serve than the University of Michigan and Michigan Medicine.
What is your proudest moment working at Michigan Medicine?
I was fortunate to be able to work on the Medical School’s business case for the acquisition of the former Pfizer property in 2009, now known as the North Campus Research Complex (NCRC). Over a decade later, more than 3,500 U-M faculty, staff and students, and employees of private companies, report to work at NCRC each day. The Medical School has invested more than $300 million to transform the space and operate it — at a tenth of the cost it would have taken to build similar facilities from the ground up.
What is your favorite way to unwind at the end of a busy day or relax on the weekend?
Spending time with family is a top priority, and these days it’s all about time with our two daughters, Emily and Kate. Our favorite place to unwind is on the sandy beaches of the greatest lake of all time, Lake Michigan. You will find us watching sunsets and enjoying the beaches near Holland, MI on many summer weekends.
