Update, 3:35 p.m. Sunday | Salovey stopped by the Freshman Bazaar this afternoon and, again, was decidedly mustache-less. Photographic evidence above.

This is not a joke: Provost Peter Salovey appeared at the Freshman Assembly ceremonies this morning without his trademark mustache.

It is unclear when Salovey — who was the subject of a false rumor two years ago that he dropped his mustache, briefly sending the campus into a tizzy — decided to shave. It is worth noting that Salovey’s predecessor as provost, Andrew Hamilton, decided to shave his similiarly giant mustache around the time he assumed Yale’s second-ranking position.

We’ll post a photograph as soon as we get one, and we’ll let you know if Salovey has any comment on his new facial hair stylings.

(Photo: Reed Reibstein/Contributing Photographer)