As conservatives celebrate Ronald Reagan's 101st birthday on Monday, the keepers of Reagan's legacy say a new poll shows 60 percent of college professors don't rank Reagan in the top 10 pantheon of presidents while others declare him only marginally more successful than President Obama.

Young America's Foundation said it commissioned a poll of 284 professors and found that not one of them ranked Reagan as the best president ever, though 61 percent called him "mostly a success" while 59 percent said the same of Obama. The results are not totally surprising considering 57 percent of those surveyed identified themselves as "liberal" while 16 percent called themselves "conservative."

Sensing a disconnect between academia and the public at large, the organization pointed to a Gallup poll taken a year ago that shows 19 percent of Americans ranked Reagan as the greatest president ever while 14 percent credited Abraham Lincoln and 13 percent gave that honor to Bill Clinton. Obama earned 5 percent of the vote. 

In all, the professors gave Reagan an average C+ grade, same as Obama. Jimmy Carter earned a C- and George W. Bush received a D from the responding teachers.

"The leftist tilt of college professors is well known. However, the fact that President Reagan is now viewed as 'successful' by 61 percent of this group is testament to the lasting accomplishments of our 40th president," said Reagan Ranch Board of Governors Chairman Frank Donatelli.

Meanwhile, the Carleson Center for Public Policy, which is composed of former Reagan staffers, issued memorable quotes from the Gipper on Monday to commemorate Reagan's birthday and mark his success in office. 

The group noted that Reagan reduced inflation from 13 percent when he took office to 3.2 percent in 1983 and unemployment from 10.8 percent when he took office to 5.3 percent when he left in 1989. The group notes that the poverty rate also decreased every year under Reagan while the average household income of the bottom 20 percent of earners grew by 12.2 percent between 1983 to 1989.