Dear Scott: I Wouldn't Have Thought So, But Yes

I have been at a seminar where a supervisor presented the results of work done by one of his students. But to be fair the seminar was in New Zealand and the student was in the US at the time, so couldn't present in person.

This is quite a find by Sumner.

"To be clear, it is most emphatically not good practice for monetary policymakers to try to target asset prices directly." - Bernanke, citing another paper by himself. I might have to go read that one too.

Does anyone know if Bernanke has given a defense of his change in perspective? Has anyone even challenged him on the apparent contradiction between his actions as Fed chairman and his academic work?

This is common practice. They're called "journal clubs". Of course, the context for those isn't the same as a regular seminar series. In that context, it would be rare. But "allowed"? Certainly. However, I would usually expect it only when some possibly groundbreaking paper has just been published, which people are eager to hear about from someone who has read it in detail.