Patricia N. Willoughby is an American educator and former government appointee from North Carolina.
She was appointed by Governor Mike Easley as the interim North Carolina Superintendent of Public Instruction in September 2004,[1] following the resignation of Mike Ward, and served the remaining months of Ward's term.
Her term lasted until August 23, 2005, when her successor, Democrat June Atkinson, was sworn in.
Willoughby was an instructor in elementary education at Meredith College in Raleigh, North Carolina.
She is married to Wake County district attorney, Colon Willoughby, and has two daughters.